^ 

•'  -^ .-,-. 


The  Horse  Book 


A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  THE  AMERICAN 
HORSE  BREEDING  INDUSTRY  AS 
ALLIED  TO  THE  FARM  - 


By  J.H.S.JOHNSTONE 

Assistant  Editor  of  "The  Breeder's  Gazette" 


, 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


Chicago 

Sanders  Publishing  Company 
1908 


OJ 


GENERAL 


COPYRIGHT  1907. 

SANDERS  PUBLISHING  CO. 

All  rights  reserved. 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE 

In  the  year  1885  Mr.  J.  H.  Sanders,  founder 
of  The  Breeder's  Gazette,  brought  out  a  little 
volume  entitled  " Horse  Breeding,"  which  for 
a  period  of  nearly  twenty-five  years  has 
stood  as  the  standard  authority  on  the  subject 
to  which  it  was  devoted.  It  passed  through 
many  editions  in  this  country,  besides  being 
translated  and  republished  in  Germany.  The 
"whirligig  of  time,"  however,  has  now  ren- 
dered it  desirable  that  the  old  work  be  sup- 
planted by  something  more  modern;  hence  the 
appearance  of  this  volume  at  this  time. 

Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Sanders  Sr.  in  1899 
the  heavy  end  of  the  editorial  work  in  connec- 
tion with  the  horse  department  of  The  Breed- 
er's Gazette  has  been  carried  by  Mr.  James  H. 
S.  Johnstone,  former  editor  of  the  Chicago 
"Horseman."  In  his  capacity  as  Assistant 
Editor  of  The  Gazette  during  the  past  eight 
years,  he  has  had  exceptional  opportunities  for 
perfecting  his  already  broad  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  hoirse.  It  was  believed,  therefore, 
that  no  writer  upon  this  topic  in  the  United 
States  at  this  date  was  better  equipped  to  un- 
dertake this  task. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  preparation  of 
this  volume  no  effort  has  been  made  to  deal 
with  the  horse  as  relates  to  the  race  course. 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

The  work  is  designed  primarily  to  be  of  prac- 
tical value  to  those  who  have  in  view  the  pro- 
duction of  the  types)  of  horses  in  general  re- 
quest upon  the  farms  and  in  the  market  places 
of  the  United  States.  Furthermore,  it  has  not 
been  deemed  advisable  to  encroach  to  any  ap- 
preciable extent  upon  the  special  province  of 
the  veterinary  surgeon.  It  is  submitted,  there- 
fore, as  an  aid  to  those  who  are  engaged  in  the 
breeding  and  handling  of  the  every-day  horse  of 
commerce;  and  in  that  field  it  is  believed  that 
"The  Horse  Book"  will  meet  an  actual  need. 
The  author  desires  us  in  this  connection  to 
express  his  special  indebtednes  to  the  present 
Managing  Editor  of  The  Breeder's  Gazette,  MT. 
Alvin  H.  Sanders,  for  valuable  suggestions  in 
the  preparation  and  revision  of  the  manuscript, 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

PART  I. 

Page. 

CHAPTER  I. — Origin  of  the  Horse 7 

CHAPTER  II. — Heredity  as  a  Force 13 

CHAPTER  III. — The  Stallion — Desirable  Points  and  Faults 21 

CHAPTER  IV. — Embryology — Impregnation — Conception    35 

CHAPTER  V. — Management  of  the  Stallion 48 

CHAPTER  VI. — Management  of  Brood  Mares  and  Foals 70 

CHAPTER  VII. — Fitting  for  Sale — Market  Classes — Trade  Terms.  108 
CHAPTER  VIII. — Fitting  for  Show  and  Showing 131 

PART  II.— THE  BREEDS. 

What  is  a  Breed? 149 

DRAFT  TYPES. 
THE  FRENCH  GROUP. — Percheron,  Boulonnais,  Nlvernais,  Bre- 

tonnais,  Ardennais  and  Mulassiere 154-165 

The     Belgian 166 

THE  BRITISH  GROUP. — Clydesdale,  Shire  and  Suffolk. . .  t . . .  .170-183 
THE  LIGHT  BREEDS. — Thoroughbred,  Arabian,  Standard-bred, 

Morgan,    Orloff    186-198 

THE    COACH    BREEDS. — French    Coacher,    German    Coacher, 

Cleveland   Bay   and  Yorkshire   Coacher 197-212 

Hackney    and    Hackney    Pony 213 

THE     SADDLE     BREEDS. — Five-gaited     Saddler,     Three-gaited 

Saddler,    Hunter,    Polo    Ponies 220-229 

THE    PONY    BREEDS. — Shetland,    Welsh 230-233 

Range    Horses 234 

Three   famous    Stallions — McQueen,    Holland    Major   and 

Brilliant    238 

PART  III. 
HYGIENE— UNSOUNDNDSS— DISEASE    242 

APPENDIX. 

Stallion  lien  laws  of  all  states  and  territories  where  such 

legislation  has  been  enacted 272 

List  of  stud  books  recognized  by  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture 298 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

Extremes     meet Frontispiece 

Restored    fossil    skeleton    of    Eohippus Facing     8 

Asiatic  White  Ass   9 

Prjevalski's  Horse    10 

Burchell  Zebra H 

Skeleton   of  pulling   draft  horse 27 

Breeding    Hopples 65 

Mares  and  foals  in  pasture    93 

Finished   drafters    ready   to   ship Ill 

The  Armour  champion  draft  geldings 114 

A  Mulassiere  stallion 155 

A    Percheron    type — Imported    160 

A  Percheron  type — Bred  on  the  Western  Range 162 

Type  of  the  Boulonnais 164 

A  Nivernais  type 165 

An   Ardennais   type    165 

Type  of  the  Bretonnais  drafter    165 

A  Belgian  type 166 

A  rugged  Clydesdale 173 

A  Quality  Clydesdale. — Type  popular  in  Scotland 176 

A  Quality  Shire 178 

A  STiire  type  popular  in  England 179 

Shire  mare  and  foal    180 

A  Suffolk  type    183 

A  typical   Thoroughbred    : 186 

Lou  Dillon,   1:58% 190 

Dan  Patch,  1 :55 191 

Famous   sire  of  roadsters   and   speed 192 

Trotting-bred    heavy    harness    horse 193 

French   Coacher. — Trotting  type    202 

French    Coacher. — Carrossier     type 204 

A  German   Coacher    206 

Yorkshire    Coach    stallion 211 

Hackney. — Under   15.2   hands    213 

Hackney. — Over    15.2    hands 214 

A    small    Hackney    Pony 218 

Hackney    Pony. — Medium    size 219 

Five-gaited  Saddle  stallion 220 

A  five-gaited  Saddler  on  parade 222 

Three-gaited  saddle  horse 226 

Heavy-weight   hunter    227 

A  light-weight  hunter 228 

Colorado-bred  polo  ponies 229 

The  Celtic  Pony. — An  aboriginal  type 230 

Group  of  Shetland  Ponies 231 

Scotch    Highland    Garron 232 

A  champion  Welsh  Pony    233 

Band    of    Range   Horses    234 

Cayuse  or  Indian  pony 235 

Brilliant 239 

McQueen    in    his    23d    year 240 


vi 


PART  I. 

CHAPTER  I. 
ORIGIN  OF  THE  HORSE. 

Every  animal  as  we  see  it  today  is  the  result 
of  a  long  and  tedious  process  of  evolution. 
Time,  geologically  speaking,  is  measured  in 
ages,  and  as  we  find  the  first  definitely  accepted 
ancestor  of  the  horse  preserved  in  fossil  form 
in  the  Eocene  formation  of  the  rocks  we  may, 
according  to  the  general  belief,  place  the  date 
of  this  ancestor  somewhere  about  three  and  one- 
half  millions  of  years  ago.  Succeeding  and 
higher  forms  persist  through  the  newer  forma- 
tions in  the  earth's  crust  until  we  reach  the 
Prehistoric  and  Historic  horses,  the  remains  of 
the  former  being  found  upon  the  earth's  surface 
and  the  story  of  the  earliest  of  the  latter  being 
preserved  in  rude  sculpture.  None  of  the  geo- 
logical or  Prehistoric  prototypes  of  the  horse 
was  large,  the  greatest  height  having  been  prob- 
ably about  13  hands.  It  is  impossible  to  trace 
the  descent  of  the  horse  without  the  use  of  sci- 
entific terms,  and  for  such  use  I  crave  indul- 
gence. 

Ancestor  to  all  hoofed  or  ungulate  animals  is 
the  Phenacodus  primaevus,  which  has  therefore 
been  established  as  the  progenitor  of  the  horse. 

7 


8  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

This  was  a  small  animal  having  five  digits  or 
toes  on  each  of  its  four  limbs.  Its  second,  third 
and  fourth  toes  were  furnished  with  hoof -like 
protection  and  its  fossil  remains  are  found  in 
Europe  as  well  as  in  America.  It  lived  in 
swampy  regions  and  the  subsequent  hardening 
of  the  ground  rendered  necessary  the  evolution 
of  a  foot  of  the  type  possessed  by  the  horse  of 
today. 

Strangely  enough,  though  there  were  no 
horses  on  the  American  continent  when  it  was 
discovered  by  the  Spaniards,  the  genus  was 
evolved  here  and  is  believed  to  have  crossed  into 
Asia  over  ground  that  at  some  remote  period 
connected  the  most  northwesterly  portions  of 
our  continent  with  the  most  easterly  confines 
of  Siberia.  Profs.  Marsh  of  Yale  and  Osborn 
of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
have  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  tracing  the 
geological  history  of  the  horse. 

Next  in  line  of  descent  to  Phenacodus  is 
Eohippus,  which  name  may  be  translated  as 
meaning  the  dawn  or  beginning  of  the  horse. 
This  was  about  the  size  of  a  fox,  about  11  inches 
high,  and  in  it  the  first  toe  had  entirely  disap- 
peared and  the  fifth  was  represented  only  in 
vestigial  form  in  the  hind  legs.  Protorohippus 
followed,  probably  about  18  inches  high,  much 
like  its  predecessor,  but  lacking  the  fifth  toe  on 
all  its  legs.  Orohippus  following  presented  an 
appearance  closer  to  that  of  the  horse  and  had 


Restored  fossil  skeleton  of  Eohippus,  similar  in  size  to 
whippet  dog,  eleven  inches  high 

Photo  from  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 


"'\> 


OF  THE 

DIVERSITY 

OF 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


OEIGIN  OF  THE  HOUSE.  9 

four  toes  in  front,  the  fourth  disappearing,  and 
three  only  behind.  In  Mesohippus  there  are  but 
three  toes,  the  fourth  being  represented  by  a 
splint.  In  Miohippus  there  are  also  three  toes 
and  a  very  rudimentary  splint,  the  second  and 
fourth  toes  disappearing,  thus  leaving  this  an- 
cestor of  the  horse  to  walk  on  his  thir.d  or  middle 
toe.  In  Protohippus  the  second  and  fourth  toes 
are  smaller  still.  In  Pliohippus  these  toes  are 
represented  by  splints,  which  in  a  still  more 
rudimentary  form  exist  to  this  day. 

In  Pliohippus  we  see  the  first  real  soliped  or 
solid-footed  animal  in  this  descent,  and  the  ani- 
mal was  distinctly  of  a  horselike  type.  Thus 
may  we  trace  the  evolution  of  the  one-toed  horse 
from  his  five-toed  ancestor.  Besides  the  splint 
bones  we  have  in  further  evidence  of  this  evolu- 
tion from  a  soft-footed  ancestor  the  footskin 
which  entirely  covers  the  soft  structures  of  the 
horse's  foot  from  the  horny  box  which  protects 
them — the  hoof,  which  was  evolved  to  withstand 
the  resistance  of  the  hardened  ground.  There 
are  various  other  proofs  of  the  descent  as  out- 
lined, but  these  need  not  be  dealt  with  here. 
There  are  some  other  intermediate  links,  but 
the  line  followed  gives  the  main  steps  in  the 
evolution  of  the  horse  as  arranged  by  Marsh. 

Pliohippus  was  prevalent  in  all  the  great  con- 
tinents. How  the  horse  was  extinguished  in 
America  we  do  not  know.  It  was,  however,  in 
Asia  south  of  the  Altai  Mountains  in  Mongolia, 


10  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

and  directly  in  the  line  of  the  supposed  migra- 
tion that  what  is  considered  to  be  the  wild  type 
of  horse  was  discovered  by  Prjevalsky,  a  Bus- 
sian  traveler.  Since  1881  several  specimens  of 
this  species  have  been  brought  into  captivity 
and  its  habits  studied  in  the  region  to  which  it 
is  indigenous.  This  species  attains  a  height  of 
from  12  to  13  hands.  Between  Pliohippus  and 
the  Prehistoric  horse  there  is  a  gap  in  the  line 
of  descent  differently  filled  by  various  authori- 
ties*. It  was  at  this  period  that  the  genus 
branched  into  the  'three  species  now  represented 
by  the  horse,  the  ass  and  the  zebra. 

Of  the  Prehistoric  horse  we  read  the  record 
in  his  fossilized  bones  found  in  caves,  left  there 
by  the  men  of  the  Older  Stone  Age,  the  Newer 
Stone  Age  and  the  Bronze  Age.  Horses  seem 
then  to  have  been  used  only  as  human  food  and 
it  cannot  be  determined  when  they  were  first 
made  subservient  to  the  will  of  man  to  carry 
him  or  to  work.  Some  of  the  Prehistoric  horses 
partook  largely  of  the  character  of  the  ass  and 
it  is  probable  that  Prjevalsky's  horse  corre- 
sponds quite  closely  to  some  of  the  later  forms 
of  that  step  in  equine  evolution  or  forms  a  sort 
of  a  connecting  link  between  the  Prehistoric  and 
the  Historic  races. 

Scientifically  the  horse,  the  ass  and  the  zebra 
form  what  is  known  as  the  genus  Equus.  The 
Nubian  "Wild  Ass  is  the  nearest  the  original 
"  of  ass  and  from  it  all  our  domesticated 


•Bi 


[OBIGIN  OF  THE  HOUSE.  1 1 

f  oses  are  descended.  The  Mountain  Zebra  oc- 
cupies the  same  position  for  that  species.  Spe- 
cific differences  between  the  horse  and  the  ass 
are  many,  but  the  chief  perhaps  are  that  the 
ass  has  but  five  lumbar  vertebrae,  the  horse 
edx ;  the  ass  has  chestnuts  on  two  legs,  the  horse 
on  all  four;  the  ass  brays,  the  horse  neighs. 
^Position  is  accorded  Prjevalsky's  horse  as  de- 
fined in  part  because  it  has  only  five  lumbar 
vertebrae,  yet  its  other  characteristics  place  it 
among  the  true  horses. 

Crossing  is  freely  accomplished  among  mem- 
bers of  the  three  species  of  this  genus.  -The  re- 
sult of  such  crossing  is  termed  a  hybrid.  The 
most  common  is  between  the  horse  and  the  ass. 
and  this  mating  appears  to  have  been  made  at 
a  very  early  date,  though  in  which  direction  we 
do  not  know.  Progeny  of  the  male  ass  and 
mare  is  called  a  mule,  that  of  a  stallion  and  a 
female  ass  a  hinny,  Pro^ej^J>ej^jlfiJiJiy  the 
male  zebra  from  maresTis  now  comparatively 
common  and  is  termed  zebrpidL  In  all  cases 
these  hybrids  are  absolutely  sterile.  Allega- 
tions to  the  contrary  have  been  made,  but  proof 
without  flaw  or  loophole  is  so  far  wanting. 

War  and  the  chase  having  been,  beyond  that 
of  food  for  man,  the  primal  uses  to  which  the 
horse  was  put,  and  as  improvement  would 
naturally  follow  domestication,  we  must  look 
in  Asia  or  North  Africa  for  the  first  advances 
toward  the  strength  to  carry  men  and  later  in 


12  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

speed.  The  Arabian,  now  said  to  be  of  North 
African  origin,  is  probably  the  oldest  estab- 
lished type  of  improved  horse,  his  ancient  pre- 
eminence being  due  to  the  military  prowess  of 
the  peoples  erstwhile  inhabiting  a  wide  but  ill- 
defined  area  in  Eastern  Asia.  Westward  in 
Europe  horses  grew  larger  and  when  the 
Saracenic  invasions  brought  the  famous  clouds 
of  eastern  warriors  under  the  crescent  of 
Islam  into  France  and  Spain,  the  strains  in- 
terlocked and  the  foundation  for  the  modern 
equine  superstructure  was  mortised  together. 
From  Spain  Cortez  brought  the  first  horses 
ever  landed  on  American  soil  when  he  began  his 
romantic  conquest  of  Mexico,  on  March  24, 1519. 
Conditions  proved  ideal  for  their  multiplication 
and  to  the  mounts  of  the  mere  handful  of  Span- 
ish cavalry  which  followed  the  fortunes  of  the 
Great  Conquistador  may  be  traced  the  inception 
of  horse  breeding  on  this  continent. 


CHAPTER  II. 
HEREDITY  AS  A  FORCE. 

Heredity  is  the  biological  force  which  tends 
to  enable  parents  to  transmit  their  physical  and 
psychological  characteristics  to  their  offspring. 
In  improved  domestic  animals  this  force  has 
little  strength  of  itself.  As  a  factor  in  success- 
ful breeding  it  is  not  so  powerful  as  environ- 
ment. Unless  this  force  is  properly  directed 
and  suitably  environed  its  effects  in  improve- 
ment are  negligible.  The  natural  tendency  of 
all  improved  live  stock  left  to  itself  is  toward 
degeneration,  not  improvement.  Hence  in  con- 
sidering the  amelioration  of  animals  we  must 
pay  due  heed  to  the  breeder's  personal  equation. 
One  man  succeeds  and  another  fails,  both  using 
the  same  foundation  stock.  A  very  complex 
problem  is  faced  by  the  breeder.  There  are  no 
hard  and  fast  rules  by  which  success  may  be  at- 
tained. Natural  opposition,  always  trending 
downward,  must  be  overcome.  Superior  indi- 
viduality and  good  pedigree  are  necessary  to 
the  production  of  high-class  animals,  but  they 
are  of  comparatively  small  value  unless  they 
are  surrounded  by  proper  conditions  and  the 
forces  of  heredity  are  directed  aright.  The 
longer  I  live  and  the  more  I  see  of  men  and 

13 


14  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

horses  the  less  weight  do  I  grant  to  heredity 
and  the  more  to  environment  and  the  personal 
equation. 

Heredity  has  been  supposed  to  fix  type.  It 
does  with  certain  conditions  and  it  does  not 
without.  Wild  animals  are  of  truly  fixed  type ; 
improved  domestic  animals  are  not.  The  Nu- 
bian lion  is  the  same  today  as  he  was  1,000 
years  ago;  he  will  be  the  same  tomorrow  and 
1,000  years  hence,  if  the  conditions  under  which 
he  lives  remain  the  same.  There  has  been  no 
admixture  of  alien  strain  in  his  blood.  He  is 
not  a  composite  and  therefore  he. is  immune 
from  variation,  the  law  of  which  no  one  under- 
stands, the  operation  of  which  no  one  can  fore- 
see, which  is  sometimes  in  advance,  generally 
in  retrogression. 

All  improved  breeds  are  of  recent  origin  and 
all- are  composites.  The  good,  the  bad  and  the 
indifferent  are  to  be  seen  in  them  all.  If  we 
accept  the  types  of  the  wild  animals  as  fixed, 
then  we  must  admit  that  the  types  of  improved 
animals  are  not  fixed.  Compare  any  of  our  im- 
proved breeds  with  the  wild  goose  or  the  buffalo 
for  an  illustration.  Admitting  that  heredity  is 
one  of  the  fundamental .  principles  with  which 
the  breeder  has  to  deal,  we  must  grant  that  any 
animal  is  an  aggregation  of  the  essential  ele- 
ments of  all  his  ancestors,  the  influence  of  these 
ancestors  decreasing  as  they  become  more  re- 
mote. Nevertheless  the  tendency  to  revert  to 


HEREDITY  AS  A  FORCE.  15 

the  characteristics  of  some  ancestor  is  uncon- 
querable and  this  atavism,  as  it  is  called,  must 
be  reckoned  with  always  as  well  as  variation. 
These  tendencies  must  of  necessity  be  met  with 
more  frequently  in  improved  breeds  of  recent 
and  composite  origin  and  varying  environment 
than  they  are  in  wild  animals  which  have  bred 
without  alien  blood  and  without  change  of  sur- 
roundings for  an  indefinite  period  of  time. 
Hence  improved  animals  bred  and  selected  for 
many  years  with  one  fixed  object  in  view  must 
more  strongly  transmit  their  characteristics  to 
their  offspring  than  those  which  have  resulted 
from  hap-hazard  matings. 

Natural  selection  is  governed  by  the  inexora- 
ble law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  Matings 
of  improved  stock  are  often  ordered  at  random, 
without  due  regard  to  true  fitness,  and  be  it 
said  for  the  great  mass  of  breeders  compara- 
tively seldom  with  a  definite  ideal  in  view.  Even 
the  greatest  breeders  have  never  collectively 
directed  their  efforts  along  exactly  the  same 
line.  Therefore  we  have  types  and  types  within 
the  same  breed.  An  inexorable  law,  always 
without  change,  has  ordered  the  selection  of 
parents  in  the  wild  races.  Crossed  this  way 
and  that  within  itself,  an  improved  breed  pre- 
sents sometimes  as  many  types  as  there  are 
great  breeders  and  the  great  majority  of  the 
animals  within  the  breed  can  not  be  called  typ- 
ical at  all — they  lack  the  touch  of  the  master 


"ecne'r'on,  tne 
lowed  to  breed  indiscri 
ceases  after  a  time  to  b 
comes  a  range  horse,  be 
ment  is  stronger  than  tfc 
queathed  to  him.     On  t 


HEBEDITY  AS  A  FORCE.  17 

take  the  instance  of  the  range-bred  polo  pony  as 
proving  the  converse  of  this  proposition.  Com- 
mon range  mares  are  mated  with  Thoroughbred 
stallions  and  the  foals  are  suitably  environed. 
In  this  way  we  breed  the  best  polo  ponies  on 
earth.  Allowed  to  run  on  the  range  with  their 
mothers  these  foals,  not  subject  to  the  environ- 
ment which  makes  polo  ponies,  develop  into 
common  rangers. 

Approaching  the  problem  of  what  heredity 
will  do  for  us,  parents  will  transmit  a  measure 
of  their  joint  individuality  to  their  offspring. 
Thus  if  we  mate  a  stallion  and  a  mare  Jboth  pro- 
nouncedly drooping  in  the  rump,  the  foal  will 
almost  to  a  surety  exhibit  that  faulty  conforma- 
tion. Hence  it  follows  that  when  either  parent 
has  some  undesirable  characteristic  great  care 
should  be  exercised  to  select  the  other  very 
strong  in  that  particular  point.  These  undesir- 
able factors  in  conformation  seem  to  be  trans- 
mitted with  greater  force  and  certainty  than 
those  which  we  most  desire.  If  we  use  stallions 
and  mares  of  low  grade  we  are  merely  inviting 
the  production  of  doubly  inferior  progeny. 
Heredity  is  not  altogether  impartial  in  this  mat- 
ter. The  best  stallion  will  only  beget  a  certain 
proportion  of  his  offspring  good.  The  inferior 
stallion  will  beget  progeny,  a  large  majority  of 
which  will  be  bad — this  of  course  presupposing 
that  the  mares  will  average  with  the  horse.  If 


18  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

the  mares  are  inferior  to  the  inferior  stallion 
there  can  be  no  hope  of  salvation  by  his  use. 

If,  as  has  been  insisted,  the  sire  and  dam  had 
each  a  set  share  in  contributing  to  the  inheri- 
tance of  the  offspring,  then  breeding  would  be 
a  business  of  rule  of  thumb — which  it  is  not. 
We  do  not  know  how  these  respective  shares  are 
arranged.  What  we  do  know  is  that  the  joint 
individuality  in  varying  proportions  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  offspring  more  or  less  definitely 
and  this  supplies  the  reason  for  the  selection  of 
high-class  parents  as  the  foundation  for  the 
further  work  of  development  by  suitable  envi- 
ronment. In  this  discussion  I  have  not  taken 
into  consideration  the  transmission  of  equine 
speed,  as  that  is  an  elusive  spark,  is  not  trans- 
mitted as  conformation  is  and  has  no  bearing 
on  the  breeding  of  animals  other  than  the  race 
horse,  though  subject  in  all  ways  to  the  influ- 
ence of  environment. 

Admitting  that  a  horse  is  a  composite  of  all 
his  ancestors,  a  long  pedigree  is  desirable  only 
insofar  as  it  shows  that  these  ancestors  were 
good  individuals-  and  typical  of  the  breed  con- 
cerned. A  pedigree  showing  a  heterogeneous 
mass  of  individuality  is  of  doubtful  value.  In 
an  animal  possessing  such  a  pedigree  the  ten- 
dency will  be  to  breed  unevenly  for  the  reason 
that  his  ancestors  were  not  even.  The  force  of 
heredity  is  weakened  in  such  cases  because  of 


HEKEDITY  AS  A  FORCE.  19 

the  diversity  of  directions  in  which  it  has  been 
employed. 

To  invoke  the  aid  of  heredity  then  as  an 
ameliorating  agent  we  must  select  breeding 
stock  with  lines  of  good  ancestors  behind  them, 
as  well  as  good  individuality  in  them.  In  such 
the  especial  type  desired  must  be  more  firmly 
fixed  than  in  those  which  have  been  promiscu- 
ously bred  within  the  breed  or  crossed  out  of  it 
altogether.  The  inheritance  has  been  intensi- 
fied in  the  one,  diversified  in  the  other.  Taking 
advantage  of  this  intensification  and  subjecting 
its  results  to  proper  environment  we^may  pro- 
ceed on  our  upward  way.  It  is  the  intensified 
inheritance  of  the  pure-bred  which  triumphs 
over  the  diversified  inheritance  of  the  scrub  and 
thus  enables  us  to  grade  up  our  stock.  Simi- 
larly it  is  the  diversified  inheritance  of  the 
grade  which  precludes  his  success  as  a  sire,  even 
though  he  apparently  possesses  the  character- 
istics of  the  pure-bred. 

I  have  conceived,  as  illustrating  the  relative 
values  of  heredity,  the  personal  equation  and 
environment  the  simile  of  a  telephone  system. 
The  wire  strung  between  two  poles  may  repre- 
sent heredity.  If  it  is  struck  by  lightning  it  will 
conduct  the  undirected  force  as  it  always  has 
conducted  it  and  always  will — no  one  knows 
whither.  Environ  this  same  wire  with  tele- 
phone apparatus  at  each  end,  direct  the  elec- 
tricity in  its  proper  volume  and  proportion  and 


20  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

the  result  is  a  marvel  of  achievement.  The  con- 
clusion of  the  whole  matter  is  that  heredity  of 
itself  will  do  little  for  us  if  we  do  not  direct 
and  environ  aright  the  results  accruing  from  its 
limited  force.  The  elements  of  success  tem- 
poral or  moral  must  proceed  from  within  the 
man  essaying  to  achieve  it.  The  breeder  who 
succeeds  takes  the  forces  and  the  elements  he 
finds  at  his  hand  and  directs  them  and  sur- 
rounds them  to  the  attainment  of  a  fixed  ideal 
which  can  be  correctly  formed  only  by  careful 
thought  lighted  by  the  lamp  of  experience  and 
reached  only  by  a  conquering  course  over  obsta- 
cles great  and  small. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE     STALLION— DESIRABLE     POINTS 
AND  FAULTS. 

In  selecting  a  stallion  to  breed  from  we  must 
remember  always  that  it  is  the  handwork  of 
man  from  which  we  have  to  choose.  Therefore 
if  we  desire  to  pick  out  one  which  may  reason- 
ably be  expected  to  transmit  his  conformation 
we  must  look  for  one  which  presents  those  char- 
acteristics which  have  been  f  avoredT  of  all  men 
ever  since  the  work  of  improvement  was  begun. 
There  is  for  this  reason  one  quality  which  I 
count  easily  first  in  betokening  promise  of  pre- 
potence,  and  that  is  a  good  outlook — a  high- 
headed,  bold,  noble  masculine  presence.  All 
the  ancient  writers  refer  to  the  crest  of  the  stal- 
lion. The  Bible  clothes  his  neck  with  thunder 
and  makes  him  sniff  the  battle  from  afar.  The 
oldest  sculptures  show  him  as  a  stallion  should 
be  in  this  regard.  I  never  knew  a  stallion  with 
the  head  and  neck  of  a  mare  to  be  a  good 
breeder.  The  bold  outlook  is  possessed  by  the 
winning  show  horses.  It  is  possessed  by  their 
sires.  Men  have  bred  for  it,  striven  for  it,  even, 
as  history  teaches,  fought  for  it  during  thou- 
sands of  years.  The  horse  that  shows  it  is  like- 
ly to  have  it  by  right  of  inheritance — a  reason- 

21 


22  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

ably  fixed  characteristic.  I  mark  it  the  most 
important  of  all  when  it  is  accompanied  by 
soundness  and  desirable  conformation  in  other 
points. 

A  lot  of  stock  phrases  have  been  trotted  out 
from  time  immemorial  to  govern  the  selection 
of  a  horse.  Some  of  them  need  puncturing. 
One  of  the  most  glibly  quoted  is  "no  foot,  no 
horse. "  Experience  of  later  day  methods  has 
suggested  another  axiom  to  me  which  should 
gain  as  wide  a  vogue — "no  top,  no  price. "  A 
horse  may  be  the  soundest  on  earth  and  he  will 
not  bring  a  good  price  unless  he  has  a  good  top 
to  go  with  his  soundness.  Both  top  and  bottom 
are  required.  Bear  in  mind  this  new  proverb 
as  well  as  the  old  one.  No  one  should  buy  an 
unsound  horse,  but  neither  should  he  buy  a 
sound  one  if  he  has  nothing  else  to  recommend 
him. 

We  have  also  heard  much  about  hereditary 
unsoundness.  I  have  never  seen  a  foal  unsound 
at  birth,  but  I  have  seen  hundreds  ruined  by 
faulty  environment.  What  we  must  fight  shy  of 
primarily  is  formation  so  faulty  as  to  predis- 
pose to  unsoundness.  A  blemish  which  is  the 
result  of  an  accident  pure  and  simple  and  aris- 
ing on  a  normal  joint,  for  instance,  will  not  be 
transmitted.  Narrow  round  hocks,  from  their 
insufficient  carrying  capacity,  are  predisposed 
to  bone  and  bog  spavins.  Sickle  hocks  invite 
curbs.  Short  straight  pasterns  and  cramped 


THE  STALLION.  23 

hoof -heads  go  with  sidebones,  and  so  on  through 
a  list  which  need  not  be  farther  detailed  here. 
Faulty  surroundings  in  youth  are  the  main 
cause  for  most  of  the  unsoundnesses  we  see  in 
horses. 

It  has  been  maintained  that  the  stock  term 
1  i  quality ' '  has  never  yet  been  properly  defined. 
My  definition  of  quality  is  "refinement  of 
fibre. ' '  Letting  that  go  for  what  it  is  worth,  the 
fact  remains  that  we  recognize  quality  in  a  gen- 
eral way  by  refinement  of  conformation  and  tex- 
ture of  hair.  Whether  the  hair  dominates  the 
quality  or  the  quality  unseen  dominates  the  hair 
I  am  not  prepared  to  say.  Let  us  call  the  rela- 
tion reciprocal.  We  have  all  heard  a  lot  about 
the  clean  flat  ivory-like  bone  of  some  horses  and 
the  meaty,  coarse,  spongy,  round  bone  of  others 
— beautiful  quality  in  the  former,  no  quality  at 
all  in  the  latter.  To  the  first  is  joined  a  good 
foot,  to  the  second  a  poor  one,  and  there  is  a 
good  reason  for  this,  even  if  some  of  the  terms 
and  beliefs  quoted  have  no  foundation  in  fact. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  flat  bone,  as  the 
term  is  used  in  the  horse.  The  canon  bones  are 
round.  It  is  the  tendon  that  gives  the  flat  ap- 
pearance. The  bone  in  the  quality  horse  is  not 
necessarily  stronger  than  the  bone  in  the  other 
horse.  The  roundness  of  the  leg  is  produced  by 
the  thickness  of  the  skin  and  the  presence  of 
tissues  about  the  tendon.  The  Colorado  Experi- 
ment Station  has  found  the  bone  of  a  common 


24  THE  HOBSE  BOOK. 

ranger  far  stronger  than  that  of  a  well  bred, 
high-quality  native  horse. 

Texture  of  the  hoof  is  dominated  absolutely 
by  the  character  of  the  hair  on  the  coronet.  The 
hoof  is  secreted  by  papillae  the  same  as  the 
hair  (also  tubes),  and  in  composition  is  a  series 
of  tubes  glued  together  by  matter  very  largely 
the  same  as  the  dandruff  exfoliated  by  the  skin. 
If  the  hair  is  coarse  the  papillae  secreting  the 
hoof  will  be  coarse  also,  the  structure  of  the 
hoof  being  therefore  comparable  to  the  hair  we 
see  on  the  legs  and  coronet.  The  larger  the 
tubes  in  the  hoof,  the  larger  is  the  space  between 
them  to  be  filled  with  the  connecting  matter. 
The  more  coarse,  brittle  and  curly  the  hair 
about  the  coronet,  the  more  objectionable  will 
be  the  formation  of  the  horny  hoof.  The  finest 
hair  known  in  the  entire  equine  family  is  on  the 
leg  of  the  Thoroughbred.  At  speed  the  foot  of 
the  racer  sustains  an  impact  with  the  ground 
that  would  instantly  wreck  the  foot  of  a  draft 
horse. 

Quality,  even  if  an  intangible  attribute,  is  in- 
grained in  the  horse,  but  it  is  not  always  recog-, 
nized  when  it  is  seen.  Many  a  rough  looking 
seemingly  qualityless  colt  in  the  field  exhibits 
the  most  beautiful  quality  in  the  show  ring. 
Much  of  it  is  often  the  result  of  proper  environ- 
ment. Quality  is  a  word  to  conjure  with  and 
one,  be  it  said,  about  which  a  measureless 
amount  of  buncombe  has  been  preached.  Too 


THE  STALLION. 


25 


often  it  has  been  hidden  behind  to  cover  up  a 
degree  of  ultra  refinement  which  is  far  more  to 
be  shunned  than  a  tendency  as  much  in  the 
other  direction.  Every  undersized  runty  little 
fine-boned  stallion  is  bragged  up  for  his  quality  > 
as  though  that  was  some  sort  of  an  excuse  for 
him.  Now  bear  this  in  mind :  if  a  horse  has  real 
quality  he  has  it  all  over  him,  not  merely  in  his 
legs.  Quality  counts  for  much  in  a  horse  that 
is  big  enough,  but  watch  out  that  it  is  real  qual- 
ity and  not  weakness  masquerading  under  that 
high-sounding  title. 

Another  stock  saying,  which  has  baen  handed 
down  for  more  than  a  generation  here  to  the 
everlasting  detriment  of  the  horse,  is  that  his 
foot  should  be  deeply  concave.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  consult  old  papers  and  catalogues  to 
learn  how  much  stress  has  been  laid  on  this  er- 
roneous teaching.  The  blacksmith  has  appar- 
ently taken  advantage  of  this  belief  by  invaria- 
bly thinning  the  sole  and  cutting  away  the  frog 
and  so  assisting  in  making  the  foot  concave. 
Mark  this  fact  well :  the  foot  that  is  deeply  con- 
cave— and  naturally  it  is  rare — is  a  thing  to  be 
avoided.  The  blacksmith  should  never  be  al- 
lowed to  put  his  knife  on  sole  or  frog  except  to 
trim  away  ragged  portions.  What  we  want  is 
a  strong,  deep  heel,  a  thick  frog,  a  deep,  stout 
wall  and  as  thick  a  sole  as  possible.  If  the  sole 
is  concave  it  must  be  thin,  for  there  is  only  so 
much  space  in  the  foot  anyway,  and  we  need 


26  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

as  much  thickness  of  sole  as  we  can  get.  The 
low,  weak  heel  and  meager  frog  is  that  which 
we  must  avoid. 

The  horny  hoof  is  joined  to  the  inner  struc- 
tures at  the  coronary  band  and  by  the  horny 
and  sensitive  laminae,  some  lining  the  horny 
hoof,  some  rising  from  the  footskin.  These  two 
sets  of  laminae  are  interlaced  together  and  they 
are  again  interlocked  so  that  in  the  ordinary 
foot  there  are  something  like  750,000  points  of 
connection  between  the  laminae,  holding  the 
hoof  in  its  place.  The  junction  at  the  coronet 
is  a  weak  one.  The  interlocking  of  the  laminae 
practically  holds  the  horny  box  in  its  place.  The 
whole  column  of  the  leg  rests  on  the  compara- 
tively small  coffin  bone  in  the  center  of  the  hoof. 
The  coffin  bone  in  turn  rests  upon  the  fatty 
frog  which  overlies  the  horny  frog  and  the  sole. 
The  junction  betwen  the  sole  and  the  wall  is 
not  a  strong  one.  This  supplies  the  reason  why 
the  sole  which  is  thick  and  never  looks  con- 
cave is  to  be  preferred,  because  of  the  greater 
strength  of  its  connection  with  the  wall —  hence 
the  blacksmith  should  never  be  allowed  to  use 
anything  but  the  rasp  in  leveling  the  foot  to 
take  the  shoe.  The  bars  are  merely  an  exten- 
sion of  the  wall,  designed  to  keep  the  heels 
spread  and  should  never  be  mutilated,  in  fact 
should  never  be  touched  with  the  knife. 

"  Begin  at  the  ground "  is  another  dictum 
which  has  been  repeated  parrotlike  from  year 


8.1 

cs   ~ 


I 

Q    o 

If 

£    I 


§1 

E 


THE  STALLION.  27 

to  year1.  Don't.  Stand  off  rather  and  take  a 
good  look  at  the  stallion.  If  he  looks  like  what 
is  wanted  and  has  the  right  kind  of  an  out- 
look to  him,  glance  at  his  back  and  quarter, 
loin  and  flank.  If  he  is  short  in  his  back,  strong 
in  his  loin,  full  quartered,  has  plenty  of  space 
to  take  care  of  his  dinner,  and  his  rib  is  long 
and  well  sprung  out  from  the  backbone,  then  in- 
spect his  feet  and  legs. 

Width  in  front  and  behind  is  essential,  but 
the  legs  should  not  be  stuck  on  one  at  each 
corner.  A  horse  made  that  way  always  rolls 
in  front  and  goes  wide  behind.  The  legs  should 
be  set  well  under  the  body  and  heavily  muscled 
outside.  This  heavy  muscling  gives  the  proper 
sort  of  width.  The  quarters  should  be  round, 
the  tailhead  well  elevated,  the  lower  thighs  well 
filled,  carrying  the  width  of  the  upper  quarters 
well  down  to  the  gaskins,  into  which  it  should 
round  off  nicely  and  then  taper  to  the  hock.  The 
forearms  should  bulge  prominently  forward 
and  outward  and  the  muscle  above  and  forward 
of  the  elbow  should  be  heavy  and  the  chest 
prominent  and  deep.  The  neck  should  spring 
well  from  a  pair  of  sloping  shoulders,  curve 
abruptly  to  the  crest  and  then  still  upward  to 
the  ears.  The  lower  line  of  the  neck  should 
curve  outward  and  then  inward  to  the  throttle 
which  should  be  as  fine  as  possible  for  beauty's 
sake.  A  horse  is  a  poorly  constructed  animal  at 
the  best.  Such  an  enormous  weight  as  the  head 


28  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

borne  on  the  end  of  such  a  long  and  weak  bony 
structure  as  the  neck  is  a  poor  piece  of  mechani- 
cal engineering,  only  partially  corrected  by  the 
elastic  ligament  which  stretches  from  the  spines 
of  the  backbone  at  the  withers  to  the  poll.  If 
the  neck  curves  upward  well  and  the  bracing  of 
the  muscles  on  the  underside  is  adequate  it  will 
be  easier  for  the  horse  to  keep  his  head  where 
it  should  be.  Short  stubbed  necks  are  never 
desirable. 

The  ear  should  be  reasonably  long,  not  coarse 
and  never  drooping.  The  head  should  be  wide 
between  the  eyes,  straight  in  its  forward  outline 
and  of  moderate  length.  The  muzzle  is  hardly 
ever  too  fine  in  any  breed  and  the  jaws  should 
be  of  depth  proportionate  to  the  other  parts. 
The  more  prominent  the  eye  the  better.  Over 
all  the  head  should  be  lean  and  bony,  and  it 
should  be  joined  to  the  column  of  the  neck  so 
that  the  horse  may  hold  it  away  up  and  out  with 
little  effort. 

The  forelegs  act  merely  as  weight  carriers. 
The  hind  legs  do  the  propelling.  The  knee 
should  be  broad  when  viewed  from  in  front  and 
deep  when  viewed  from  the  side.  The  canon 
and  the  tendon  should  be  strong  and  the  groove 
between  them  as  much  accentuated  as  possible. 
The  pastern  should  be  of  good  length  and 
oblique,  sloping  neatly  into  a  smooth  open  coro- 
net which  joins  a  corresponding  foot  without 
any  roughness.  The  hocks  should  be  broad  from 


THE  STALLION.  29 

front  to  back  and  of  strong  structure.  The 
set  of  those  joints  should  be  such  that  a  plumb- 
line  dropped  from  the  posterior  angle  of  the 
hip  should  strike  the  hock  and  traverse  the  en- 
tire length  of  the  tendon.  This  brings  the 
weight  to  bear  downward  in  a  perpendicular 
line  and  gives  the  most  strength.  Quality  of  the 
legs  has  already  been  discussed,  as  has  the  tex- 
ture and  character  of  the  hoof.  Avoid  horses 
that  stand  with  their  forelegs  stretched  out  in 
front  of  them  or  tucked  in  below  them. 

Action  must  necessarily  be  different  in  the 
different  sorts  of  horse  and  as  such  wilt  be  dealt 
with  specifically  in  considering  the  various 
breeds.  Generally  speaking  in  all  horses  the 
step  at  the  walk  should  be  straight  forward, 
each  foot  being  picked  up  cleanly  and  showing 
the  shoe  at  each  stride.  At  the  trot  the  move- 
ment should  be  bold  and  free,  the  legs  carried 
well  together,  especially  behind.  Very  wide  ac- 
tion behind  is  a  fault.  Even  in  fast  trotters 
where  it  has  been  condoned  it  is  now  deprecated 
as  all  the  fastest  are  line  trotters  and  do  not 
throw  the  hind  legs  outside  the  front.  A  horse 
that  stands  " nigger-heeled"  or  with  his  front 
toes  out,  will  usually  strike  his  knees.  The  one 
that  toes  in  will  go  clear.  Paddling  or  throwing 
the  fore  feet  outward  toward  the  finish  of  the 
stroke  is  very  objectionable  as  also  is  the  out- 
ward or  inward  movement  of  the  knee.  The 
hocks  should  be  kept  close  together,  flexed 


30  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

s-harply  and  brought  forward  promptly  well  be- 
neath the  body.  A  wide-going  duck-like  motion 
is  bad. 

Soundness  of  wind  must  be  insisted  on  al- 
ways. Make  a  pass  at  a  horse  as  though  to 
punch  him  in  the  flank  and  if  he  grunts  it  is 
well  to  let  some  one  else  have  him.  When  a 
horse  can  not  keep  that  kind  of  a  secret  he  will 
most  likely  tell  his  troubles  loudly  at  the  end  of 
a  smart  run.  Look  well  to  his  eyes,  his  teeth 
and  his  testicles — see  that  he  has  a  full  normal 
set  of  each. 

In  choosing  broodmares  the  same  general 
qualifications  must  govern  with  the  exception 
that  instead  of  the  bold  masterful  masculine  ap- 
pearance of  the  stallion  the  mare  should  have  a 
distinctly  feminine  turn  to  her,  though  her 
outlook  should  be  lofty  just  the  same.  She  can 
do  with  a  bit  more  range  than  the  horse,  so 
long  as  she  is  strong-backed,  deep  in  the  flank, 
roomy  all  over  and  good  in  her  bone. 

In  grading  up  native  stock  with  pure-bred 
sires  it  is  best  to  avoid  extremes.  If  the  mares 
are  small  do  not  mate  them  with  a  great  big  lub- 
ber of  a  stallion.  Nature  abhors  extremes. 
Eather  choose  a  medium  sized  compactly  built 
stallion.  He  will  give  better  results.  If  one 
has  none  but  small  runty  mares  to  begin  with  it 
will  pay  to  hasten  slowly  and  lay  the  first-cross 
foundation  securely  in  a  uniform  lot  of  fillies  to 
which  a  larger  horse  may  be  bred  and  size  grad- 


THE  STALLION.  31 

ually  worked  to  in  that  way.  It  is  not  often 
advisable  to  try  to  span  the  chasm  between  the 
1,000-pound  mare  and  the  2,000-pound  stallion 
at  one  leap.  As  size  is  attained  from  1,500  to 
1,600  pounds  and  upward  the  ton  stallion  is  all 
right,  but  with  mares  of  1,000  pounds  or  less  a 
horse  of  not  more  than  1,650  pounds  will  do 
better  work  than  a  larger  one.  The  same  prin- 
ciple applies  in  all  horse  breeding — the  more 
divergent  the  types  of  the  parents  the  smaller 
are  the  chances  of  breeding  good  horses  from 
them. 

In  choosing  either  stallions  or  broodmares, 
outside  of  actual  unsoundnesses,  avoid  long 
couplings,  light  ribs,  weak  loins,  light  flanks, 
narrowness  of  conformation,  calf-knees,  sickle 
hocks,  straight  pasterns  and  small,  steep,  flat, 
shelly  or  low-heeled  or  mulelike  feet.  Very 
light  bone  also  should  be  left  for  some  one  else, 
also  crooked  top  lines,  low  backs,  drooping 
rumps,  ewe  and  short  straight  necks,  sour  or 
"  fiddle "  heads,  sow  ears,  dish  faces  and  small 
piggy  eyes.  Sidebones,  ringbones,  spavins  and 
thoroughpins  are  most  common  unsoundnesses. 
Each  is  easily  detected.  A  splint  does  not 
matter  much  in  a  young  horse.  The  legs  should 
be  smooth  and  clean  from  the  knees  and  hocks 
down  to  the  coronet  and  so  to  the  hoof  which 
should  be  of  fine  texture  without  ridges,  cracks 
or  breaks.  If  in  running  your  hand  down  the 
leg  you  find  a  bump,  look  to  it  closely. 


32  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

In  purchasing  a  stallion,  as  that  transaction 
is  usually  carried  through  in  this  country,  see 
to  it  that  whatever  promises  or  representations 
the  seller  makes  are  made  before  the  bargain 
is  struck  and  the  consideration  passes.  Any- 
thing said  after  the  consideration  has  passed  is 
not  binding  on  the  vendor.  If  a  guarantee  of 
anything  is  to  go  with  the  horse  get  it  in  good 
set  terms,  the  plainer  and  more  definite  the 
better.  Always  secure  the  pedigree  certificate 
at  the  time  of  sale  with  a  definite  assurance  that 
the  horse  bought  is  actually  the  one  named  in 
the  certificate.  "  Mistakes "  have  been  known 
to  occur  in  thi's  very  particular.  A  guarantee 
of  the  kind  holds  the  seller  either  to  make  the 
horse  fit  the  certificate  or  the  certificate  fit  the 
horse  and  leaves  him  in  a  bad  place  if  he  can 
do  neither. 

A  guarantee  that  a  horse  will  prove  an  aver- 
age foal-getter  has  come  with  the  lapse  of  time 
to  be  generally  construed  to  mean  that  he  will 
beget  50  per  cent  of  foals  to  mares  covered.  If 
he  does  this  the  first  season  he  will  be  doing 
well  enough.  A  stallion  guarantee  is  usually 
a  jug-handled  sort  of  an  affair,  compelling  the 
buyer  to  breed  the  horse  only  to  regular  breed- 
ing mares,  to  keep  a  tally  sheet  showing  proper 
return  of  mares,  to  return  the  horse  in  as  good 
shape  as  when  he  was  sold  and  to  do  yet  other 
things  all  within  a  stated  time.  In  return  the 
guarantor  agrees,  in  the  event  of  the  horse 


THE  STALLION.  33 

not  proving  up  to  specifications,  to  replace  him 
with  a  stallion  of  equal  value,  and  he — the 
guarantor — sets  the  value.  There  is  not  a 
great  chance  for  the  buyer  in  such  a  deal,  but 
somehow  he  manages  to  worry  along  from  year 
to  year.  Most  reputable  firms  prefer  to  treat 
their  customers  liberally  and  keep  them  satis- 
fied on  the  ground,  no  doubt,  that  a  pleased 
customer  is  the  best  advertisement,  for  no 
guarantor  can  be  compelled  at  law  to  do  much 
under  that  sort  of  a  contract. 

The  seller  should  put  in  writing  all  he  prom- 
ises to  do  and  sign  his  name  to  his  promises. 
The  law  is  peculiar  in  regard  to  commercial 
transactions  "on  inspection"  and  there  is  no 
special  protection  for  the  man  who  goes  into 
a  deal  with  his  eyes  open.  He  is  supposed  to 
watch  out  for  himself.  A  guarantee  of  abso- 
lute soundness  need  never  be  expected.  No 
sane  man  would  give  such  an  one.  Legal  com- 
plications must,  however,  always  be  unravelled 
by  lawyers  in  the  long  run  and  therefore  when 
a  buyer  goes  afield  to  bring  home  a  stallion 
he  would  better  post  himself  at  the  fountain 
head  freshly  on  the  intricacies  of  the  law.  If 
he  gets  from  the  seller  his  bill  of  sale,  a  guar- 
antee of  average  potency,  the  pedigree  cer- 
tificate and  transfer  and, a  definite  statement 
that  the  horse  bought  is  really  the  one  named 
in  the  papers,  he  will  be  getting  about  all  that 
is  coming  to  him  as  the  business  is  usually 


34  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

done  nowadays.  If  lie  is  a  competent  judge  he 
can  afford  to  go  ahead  on  his  own  responsibility. 
If  he  is  not  competent  to  make  a  good  choice 
it  will  pay  him  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  seller, 
who  must  know  more  about  the  animal  than  one 
who  has  only  known  him  for  a  few  hours.  Deal 
only  with  reputable  men.  It  is  seldom  that 
such  men  will  throw  a  buyer  down  when  their 
aid  is  claimed. 


Of 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EMBRYOLOGY,  IMPREGNATION, 
CONCEPTION. 

Transmission  of  life  has  always  been  one  of 
the  greatest  mysteries  with  which  investigators 
have  had  to  deal.  As  the  higher  mammalian 
animals  are  all  the  result  of  evolution  spread- 
ing over  millions  of  years,  so  the  development 
of  the  life-transmitting  agents  must  have  been 
brought  about  through  evolution  from  mere  cel- 
lular fission  of  protoplasmic  bodies  up  to  the 
present  complicated  process.  It  was  not  until 
1677,  as  is  commonly  accepted,  that  the  seminal 
animalcules  were  discovered  and  it  was  not 
until  well  into  the  nineteenth  century  that  much 
was  known  of  their  history  and  growth.  Actual 
physiological  transmission  of  life,  transmission 
of  physical  and  mental  inheritance  and  the  de- 
velopment of  the  fetus  in  the  womb,  with  all 
the  concomitant  maze  of  mystery  existing  in 
reversion,  accidental  sports  and  the  transmis- 
sion of  acquired  characteristics,  form  one  of  the 
most  intricate  problems  with  which  science  has 
to  deal.  It  is  impossible  to  go  into  any  ex- 
tended discussion  of  this  subject  here.  There- 
fpr  the  merest  outline  must  suffice. 

In  the  mare  the  two  ovaries  are  situated  in 


36  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

the  lumbar  region  and  connected  with  the  womb 
by  the  Fallopian  tubes.  In  the  ovaries  the  ova 
or  eggs  undergo  many  well  denned  changes  be- 
fore maturity  and  are  then  liberated,  usually 
one  at  a  time,  occasionally  more.  This  is  the 
germ-cell  of  the  female. 

In  the  testes  of  the  male  the  sperm-cells  or 
spermatozoa  have  their  origin  in  the  semnifer- 
ous  tubules.  These  life-giving  agents  undergo 
various  changes  from  their  inception  to  full 
development.  At  maturity  viewed  under  the 
microscope  tjiey  are  threadlike  bodies  furnished 
with  heads  and  not  at  all  unlike  the  "wrig- 
glers ' '  one  diay  see  any  summer  day  in  a  barrelk 
of  rainwater  and  which  produce  mosquitoes/ 
These  spermatozoa,  having  been  matured,  are 
stored  in  the  seminal  vesicles  and  during  copu- 
lation are  deposited  in  the  vagina  of  the  female. 
In  some  instances  the  number  of  these  sperm- 
cells  appears  to  be  countless,  in  others  not  so 
great,  but  in  all  there  is  what  as  yet  seems  to 
be  almost  unaccountable  superabundance  of 
them.  With  them  is  secreted  a  flux  or  lubricat- 
ing medium  in  which  the  spermatozoa  float,  but 
which  in  itself  is  not  fertile. 

Periods  of  heat  are  in  the  mare  generally 
though  not  always  coincident  with  the  ripening 
and  liberation  of  the  egg.  This  passes  into  the 
Fallopian  tube  and  through  that  to  the  womb. 
The  spermatozoa  have  the  power  of  motion  and 
when  deposited  in  the  vagina  by  the  horse  begin 


EMBRYOLOGY,   IMPREGNATION,   CONCEPTION.     37 

to  work  forward.  They  enter  the  womb,  usu- 
ally in  large  numbers,  and  some  penetrate  into 
the  Fallopian  tubes  where,  according  to  the 
best  authorities,  the  first  stage  of  impregnation 
takes  place.  The  egg  seems  to  have  a  strong 
attraction  for  the  spermatozoa.  Surrounding 
the  egg  is  a  soft  envelope  which  is  readily 
pierced  by  the  comparatively  hard  head  of  the 
spermatozoon,  probably  by  several.  One  alone, 
however,  forces  its  way  into  the  center  of  the 
egg,  his  tail  is  broken  off  and  no  more  are  al- 
lowed to  enter.  This  forms  what  is  termed  the 
male  pro-nucleus.  In  the  egg  at  about  the 
same  time  the  female  pro-nucleus  is  formed  and 
those  two  moving  together  unite  and  complete 
the  process  of  impregnation.  In  the  egg  there 
is  a  yolk  which,  after  fertilization,  is  first  de- 
veloped to  greater  proportions  than  when  im- 
pregnation took  place,  supplies  sustenance  for 
the  embryo  and  later  is  absorbed.  When  it 
is  considered  that  there  are  no  two  things  in 
animal  life  exactly  alike,  and  when  it  is  known 
that  only  one  of  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands, 
of  spermatozoa  actually  fertilizes  the  egg,  it  is 
easily  recognized  how  vast  and  uncertain  the 
problem  of  heredity  really  is. 

Development  of  the  fetus  in  the  womb  of  the 
mare  has  been  more  or  less  accurately  worked 
out/ Description  of  the  changes  noted,  how- 
ever, belongs  to  the  domain  of  the  veterinarian 
rather  than  of  the  breeder.  It  is  pertinent  to 


38  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

observe,  nevertheless,  that  there  is  no  actual 
blood  transmission  directly  from  the  dam  to 
the  fetus — there  is  no  direct  communication  be- 
tween the  maternal  and  fetal  circulations.  In- 
stead the  blood  vessels  of  the  placental  mem- 
branes (which  we  recognize  as  the  afterbirth 
after  foaling)  lie  contiguous  to  the  blood  ves- 
sels of  the  dam  and  sustenance  is  afforded  to 
the  fetus  by  diffusion.  Besides  this  there  is 
in  the  amnion  or  water  bag  a  large  supply  of 
fluid  which  is  freely  imbibed  and  absorbed  by 
the  foal.  It  is  thus  easy  to  see  how  a  very 
slight  disturbance  of  the  juxta-position  of  the 
blood  vessels  of  the  dam  and  membranes,  or  of 
the  organs  secreting  the  water  in  the  amnion, 
may  cause  nourishment  to  be  shut  off  and  a 
weak  or  dead  foal  be  produced.  The  merest 
disarrangement  of  the  contiguity  of  the  blood 
vessels  may  work  harm  to  the  young  and  in 
this  way  many  a  weakly  ill-nourished  anemic 
foal  may  be  accounted  for  when  the  owner 
could  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not  have  come 
alLjight. 

x^ln  order  for  a  mare  to  conceive  it  is  neces- 
sary for  the  sperm-cells  to  enter  the  cavity  of 
the  womb  and  the  Fallopian  tubes.  As  they  are 
microscopic  in  size  they  are  necessarily  very 
delicate  in  structure.  It  is  plain  that  if  the 
neck  of  the  womb  is  absolutely  closed  they  can 
not  enter.  After  impregnation  has  taken  place 
and  the  fertilized  egg  has  descended  into  the 


EMBRYOLOGY,   IMPREGNATION,    CONCEPTION.     39 

womb,  the  mouth  of  the  womb  is  closed  by  a 
plug  of  mucus.  If  from  laceration  or  other 
accidental  cause  the  mouth  is  unduly  distended 
it  will  not  be  closed  and  the  egg  will  pass  out 
into  the  vagina  and  be  lost.  Mares  suffering 
from  any  affection  of  the  genital  organs,  such 
as  leucorrhea  (whites),  which  sets  up  a  dis- 
charge from  the  mucous  surfaces,  will  rarely 
conceive.  These  discharges  are  acid  and  de- 
stroy the  spermatozoa.  Similarly  any  condi- 
tion such  as  a  heavy  cold,  strangles  or  the  like, 
which  induces  high  temperature  or  fever,  will 
operate  to  kill  the  sperm-cells.  These,  with  the 
germ  of  contagious  abortion,  are  the  commonest 
causes  of  barrenness  in  mares. 

Any  man  reasonably  intelligent  can  quickly 
obtain  a  working  knowledge  of  the  genital  or- 
gans of  the  mare.  Outwardly  visible  is  the 
vulva.  This  is  the  entrance  to  the  vagina  which 
is  a  more  or  less  cylindrical  canal  into  which 
the  human  hand  may  readily  be  passed  with 
the  fingers  placed  so  as  to  form  a  cone.  A 
short  distance  within  the  vagina  will  be  found 
a  shallow  depression  on  its  floor  and  beyond 
this  a  protuberance  coming  from  beneath.  On 
no  occasion  or  pretext  should  this  be  touched. 
It  is  the  meatus  urinarius — the  orifice  through 
which  the  urine  is  voided  from  the  bladder. 
It  is  fitted  with  a  valve  and  is  a  tender  and 
delicate  structure.  Mares  have  been  killed  by 
ignorant  operators  mistaking  it  for  the  neck  of 


40  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

the  womb  and  manipulating  it.  Leave  it  alone. 
Pushing  the  hand  still  gently  inward  and  past 
the  meatus  the  hard  tough  neck  of  the  womb 
will  be  encountered — a  stick-like  dependent 
body  about  two  inches  in  diameter  and  circu- 
lar. This  will  be  found  with  a  hole  in  it  in 
most  cases.  If  it  is  closed  a  little  exploration 
with  the  finger  will  discover  a  transverse  inden- 
tation in  it.  Gentle  pressure  of  the  finger  will 
effect  an  entrance  and  when  one  finger  has  been 
inserted  the  orifice  may  be  rimmed  out  to  per- 
mit the  ingress  of  two  fingers,  when  it  is  large 
enough.  If  it  is  necessary  thus  to  open  the 
neck  of  the  womb  it  should  always  be  done  a 
short  time  before  service,  because  it  will  quickly 
resume  its  contracted  condition.  It  should  be 
needless  to  say  that  when  such  explorations  are 
made  the  nails  should  be  carefully  trimmed,  the 
arm  and  hand  plentifully  smeared  with  vase- 
line. A  hand  on  which  there  is  any  abrasion, 
even  a  bad  agnail,  should  never  be  employed 
in  such  work.  The  benefit  of  "  opening "  a 
mare  is  not,  as  is  generally  supposed,  so  much 
in  providing  free  entrance  for  the  spermatozoa, 
but  in  removing  toughened  coagulated  acid 
mucous  secretions  collected  in  the  mouth  and 
neck  of  the  womb. 

Impregnation  of  mares  artificially,  as  it  has 
been  termed,  by  syringe  or  capsule,  is  admitted- 
ly a  successful  operation.  As  the  spermatozoa 
must  first  get  within  the  womb  before  they  can 


EMBRYOLOGY,    IMPREGNATION,    CONCEPTION.     41 

reach  the  egg,  it  is  of  obvious  advantage  posi- 
tively to  place  them  there.  The  operation  con- 
sists merely  in  taking  up  the  spermatic  fluid  in 
the  syringe  (so-called  impregnator)  or  capsule 
and  depositing  it  within  the  uterine  cavity. 
Once  there  the  spermatozoa  may  safely  be  trust- 
ed to  meet  the  egg.  Mares  can  easily  be  got 
with  foal  yet  never  see  the  horse.  Two  or 
three  mares  may  be  impregnated  from  the  same 
service,  as  the  amount  of  spermatic  fluid  ejacu- 
lated by  the  horse  is  abundant. 

In  order  that  the  operation  may  be  deftly 
performed,  it  is  necessary  that  the  womb  should 
be  open.  If  on  examination  it  is  found  to  be 
closed,  open  it  as  described.  After  copulation 
the  withdrawal  of  the  horse  will  bring  much  of 
the  spermatic  fluid  back  into  the  depression  in 
the  floor  of  the  vagina  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made.  If  the  nozzle  of  the  syringe 
is  inserted  in  the  vagina  at  this  point  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  the  fluid  may  be  drawn  up  into 
it.  If  it  is  desired  to  operate  on  the  mare  that 
has  just  been  served,  conduct  the  nozzle  of  the 
syringe  with  the  hand  into  the  neck  of  the 
womb,  press  the  bulb,  ejecting  its  contents  into 
the  womb,  and  the  job  is  done.  If  it  is  desired 
to  impregnate  a  second  or  a  third  mare  from 
the  one  service  of  the  horse,  have  her  held 
handy  by  a  sensible  attendant.  Blunderers  are 
little  use  for  this  purpose.  When  service  has 
been  accomplished  to  the  first  mare  by  the  horse 


42  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

have  him  taken  away.  Then  taking  up  the  fluid 
with  the  syringe  quickly,  deftly  insert  the  nozzle 
in  the  vagina  of  the  second  mare,  pass  it  for- 
ward into  the  womb  and  press  the  bulb  as  be- 
fore. The  syringe  used  for  this  work  is  fitted 
with  a  rubber  tube  about  20  inches  long  between 
the  nozzle  and  bulb.  Care  must  be  taken  to 
sterilize  the  apparatus  thoroughly  between  op- 
erations by  cleansing  in  hot  water. 

With  the  capsule,  which  is  made  of  gelatine 
and  readily  dissolves  on  contact  with  the  warm 
moist  tissues,  the  operation  is  quite  as  simple, 
if  not  more  so.  Eemove  the  cap  from  the  cap- 
sule and  taking  the  other  part  in  the  hand,  in- 
sert it  in  the  vagina,  scooping  up  the  fluid  into 
it  with  the  fore  finger.  When  the  capsule  feels 
full  push  it  on  up  into  the  womb  and  leave  it 
there.  When  a  second  mare  is  to  be  impregnat- 
ed, fill  the  capsule  as  before,  withdraw  the  hand 
holding  the  capsule,  insert  it  in  the  vagina  and 
push  it  into  the  womb  as  before.  There  is  no 
occasion  to  be  in  any  great  rush.  Be  deft  and 
make  every  move  count.  Any  reasonably  dex- 
terous man  may  become  proficient  at  either  op- 
eration with  a  little  practice.  The  main  thing 
is  to  keep  the  fertilizing  fluid  from  any  marked 
rise  or  fall  in  temperature,  and  to  keep  it  from 
the  light.  The  syringe  shuts  out  the  light;  the 
fingers  closed  about  the  capsule  perform  the 
same  service,  when  a  second  mare  is  impreg- 
nated. 


EMBRYOLOGY,    IMPREGNATION,    CONCEPTION.     43 

Any  man  who  stands  stallions  may  measur- 
ably increase  Ms  returns  from  foals  by  using 
this  process  of  impregnation.  The  service  of  a 
much  favored  stallion  may  be  greatly  extended 
by  it.  Some  mares  make  a  great  fuss  when 
they  are  to  be  bred  and  others  are  atrociously 
mean  when  in  heat.  All  such  may  easily  be 
dealt  with  by  keeping  the  horse  out  of  their 
sight  and  operating  quietly  upon  them.  I  have 
carried  a  filled  capsule  forty  feet  and  suc- 
cessfully impregnated  a  female  burro  from  a 
service  performed  by  a  Shetland  Pony  s-tallion 
to  a  mare  of  his  own  kind.  The  little  stallion 
refused  the  burro  altogether  and  she  in  turn 
could  not  be  coaxed  to  go  near  him.  The  cap- 
sule and  a  little  ingenuity  overcame  the  difficul- 
ty and  she  foaled  a  fine  healthy  hinny. 

Whenever  the  operation  is  to  be  performed 
the  mare  should  either  be  hoppled  or  her  fore 
foot  should  be  held  up  by  an  assistant.  The 
hair  of  the  tail  should  be  braided  or  sacked 
down  the  length  of  the  dock  so  that  it  does  not 
interfere  with  the  operation,  and  an  assistant 
should  stand  ready  to  pull  it  out  of  the  way  if 
necessary.  I  have  made  a  .study  of  this  matter 
of  impregnation  and  the  more  I  see  and  learn 
of  it  the  more  deeply  impressed  I  am  with  the 
great  possibilities,  financial  and  otherwise,  in- 
herent in  it.  I  was  the  first  to  exploit  the  cap- 
sule method  of  impregnating  mares — I  invented 
that  method — and  have  had  an  extended  ex- 


44  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

perience  with  it.  I  commend  it  to  the  atten- 
tion of  all  breeders  and  men  who  stand  stallions 
and  jacks.  I  count  the  syringe  as  good  as  the 
capsule  in  every  respect  save  the  danger  of 
possible  infection  of  clean  mares  from  those 
that  are  diseased  unless  the  syringe  is  kept  in  a 
thoroughly  sterilized  condition.  The  operation 
itself  is  an  old  one,  but  as  at  first  it  was  con- 
fined exclusively  to  the  human  subject  it  is  not 
strange  that  it  did  not  gain  wide  publicity  until 
a  comparatively  recent  date.  So  far  as  I  know 
the  mare  is  the  only  one  of  our  domestic  farm 
animals  on  which  the  operation  of  so-called  arti- 
ficial impregnation  has  been  performed. 

There  are  many  fool  notions  concerned  with 
the  mating  of  stallion  and  mare.  For  instance 
some  people  think  that  the  stallion  "is  to 
blame ' '  if  a  mare  has  twins.  The  mare  alone  is 
responsible  for  the  number  of  foals  she  pro- 
duces. If  two  eggs  are  matured  about  the  same 
time  and  the  mare  is  covered,  the  chances  are 
that  both  will  be  fertilized.  There  are  more 
spermatozoa  ejaculated  at  one  service  of  the 
horse  that  there  ever  will  be  eggs  matured  by 
a  mare  in  her  whole  lifetime.  The  stallion  can 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  number  of  foals  a 
mare  may  produce  at  a  birth,  except  that  he  fer- 
tilizes as  many  eggs  as  her  ovaries  ripen.  A 
mare  is  not  more  likely  to  have  twins  to  a  horse 
than  she  is  to  a  jack,  though  some  folks  think 
she  is. 


EMBRYOLOGY,   IMPREGNATION,   CONCEPTION.     45 

Then  again  it  has  been  believed  by  some,  mar- 
velous though  it  may  appear,  that  tfye  spermatic 
fluid  of  the  horse  could  be  transported  long  dis- 
tances under  almost  any  conditions  and  still  re- 
tain its  life-transmitting  properties.  In  fact  a 
shameless  charlatan  once  went  so  far  as  to  ad- 
vertise a  container  in  which  the  fluid  might  be 
sent  through  the  mails,  thus  taking  advantage 
of  a  ridiculous  credulity  born  of  ignorance.  Just 
how  long  the  spermatozoa  will  live  under  the 
most  favoring  conditions  is  not  yet  determined, 
but  it  is  no  great  length  of  time. 

Another  idea  which  popularly  prevails  is  that 
startling  impressions  received  by  a  mare  at  the 
time  of  service  may  have  an  effect  on  the  color 
and  even  conformation  of  the  progeny.  Not  so 
long  ago  a  man  asked  me  how  he  might  paint 
out  the  blaze  face  of  his  horse  so  that  the  mares 
might  not  see  the  white  mark,  and  so  have  no 
"badly  marked  foals."  On  various  occasions 
I  have  seen  men  swiftly  wheel  their  mares 
around  after  service 'so  that  they  might  gaze 
upon  the  stallion's  bald  face  and  so  insure  foals 
similarly  marked.  Color  at  least  may  be  re- 
moved from  the  list  of  those  things  which  accrue 
from  impressions  received  at  the  time  of  serv- 
ice; and  it  should  not  be  forgotten,  moreover, 
that  impregnation  can  not  take  place  at  the  mo- 
ment of  copulation. 

Then  there  is  the  everlasting  " double  cover." 
It  will  not  down.  Many  men  insist  that  the 


46  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

mare  has  a  better  chance  to  get  with  foal  if  she 
is  bred  twice  within  half  an  hour  or  thereabouts. 
The  fallacy  of  this  contention  is  explained  fully 
by  the  great  number  of  sperm-cells  given  up  by 
the  horse.  As  there  is  a  vast  surplus  of  them 
in  each  service  there  is  assuredly  no  sense  in 
duplicating  their  number.  In  any  Case  it  is  a 
serious  tax  to  make  a  horse  cover  twice  in  thirty 
minutes  and  it  is  a  money  losing  proposition  as 
well.  One  service  at  a  heat  is  enough. 

Another  notion  long  in  vogue  is  that  the  first 
impregnation  influences  subsequent  offspring  ir- 
respective of  parentage.  Thus  it  has  been  al- 
leged that  if  a  young  mare  should  be  bred  to  a 
jack  and  produce  a  mule,  all  her  later  foals  by 
stallions  would  have  mule  marks.  Prof.  Cossar 
Ewart's  experiments  with  the  Burchell  zebra— 
the  most  brilliantly  colored  of  the  equine  race— 
and  pony  mares  apparently  prove  that  there  is 
no  basis  in  fact  for  this  theory  of  telegony,  as 
it  is  called,  and  that  the  first  impregnation  has 
nothing  to  do  with  those  which  follow  later. 

Close  inbreeding  is  a  practice  to  be  shunned 
in  a  general  way.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that 
some  famous  breeders  have  extensively  inbred 
their  stock  and  so  found  a  plain  path  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  few  outstanding  animals,  but  in  in- 
breeding as  a  rule  there  is  concealed  a  bottom- 
less abyss  of  failure.  The  rare  instances  where 
incestuous  mating  has  been  practiced  and  sue- 


EMBRYOLOGY,   IMPREGNATION,    CONCEPTION.     47 

cess  followed  are  the  exceptions  which  but  prove 
the  rule.  Just  what  degree  of  relationship  may 
be  permitted  can  not  be  set  down  by  any  rule, 
but  it  may  be  accepted  as  accurate  that  consan- 
guinity at  all  close  should  be  barred. 


CHAPTER  V. 
MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION. 

Having  seen  that  there  is  nothing  super- 
natural or  occult  about  the  transmission  of  life, 
but  instead  that  the  development  of  the  germ- 
cell  and  the  sperm-cell  is  a  normal  physiogolical 
process,  it  becomes  plain  that  in  order  to  pro- 
duce young  of  normal  vigor  the  parents  should 
be  in  normally  vigorous  health.  Possession  of 
the  highest  condition  of  health  implies  the  con- 
tinual breaking  down  of  the  bodily  tissues,  elim- 
ination of  the  waste  and  replacement  by  new 
tissues,  prevention  of  undue  accumulation  of 
fat  and  thorough  cleansing  of  the  system  by  the 
eliminatory  channels.  This  desired  condition 
inheres  in  the  proper  degree  only  in  the  horse 
when  he  is  worked  and  well  fed.  It  follows  that 
every  stallion  should  be  worked,  and  the  same 
is  true  of  every  brood  mare.  I  can  see  no  rea- 
son why  both  should  not  take  their  turns  regu- 
larly in  the  harness  and  do  their  reproductive 
work  as  well. 

There  comes  a  time,  of  course,  in  the  life  of 
every  stallion  and  mare  when,  on  account  of 
failing  bodily  vigor,  only  moderate  labor,  or 
none  at  all,  should  be  required  of  them.  In  the 
sere  and  yellow  stage  of  equine  existence  the 
system's  physiological  processes  are  much 

48 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  49 

slower  than  in  youth  or  at  maturity.  The  ideal 
condition  is  achieved  when  just  enough  work 
is  given  to  keep  all  the  bodily  functions  at  their 
best.  I  count  a  full  day's  work  none  too  much 
for  a  stallion  from  his  fifth  at  least  to  his 
twelfth  year  and  often  much  longer. 

With  the  extension  of  my  experience  I  have 
become  more  and  more  firmly  rooted  in  the  be- 
lief that  the  working  of  the  stallion  and  the 
mare,  in  the  draft  breeds  especially,  is  an  abso- 
lute essential  to  a  high  degree  of  success  in 
breeding.  It  follows  then  that  the  working  of 
the  parents  has  had  its  influence  on  breeds.  If 
this  is  true  the  manner  of  working  and  the  tem- 
perament of  the  people  ordering  the  labor  must 
also  have  exerted  their  influence  on  breeds — 
which  brings  us  back  once  more  to  the  personal 
equation  and  environment. 

It  seems  clear  that  this  accounts  in  large  de- 
gree for  the  prevailing  popularity  of  the  Perche- 
ron  in  the  United  States  and  explains  why  its 
offspring  finds  such  favor  with  the  American 
people.  There  are  no  great  studs  of  idle  mares 
in  France.  It  is  hard  to  buy  mares  there  in 
show  condition.  It  is  common  enough  to  see 
mature  draft  stallions  imported  from  France 
with  the  collar  marks  upon  them.  I  do  not  re- 
call ever  having  seen  similar  marks  on  a  stallion 
imported  from  the  United  Kingdom.  The 
French  horse  is  driven  by  men  of  quick  nervous 
temperament,  flashy  and  mercurial  at  times, 


50  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

perhaps,  but  in  the  main  steadfast,  enduring 
and  the  most  thrifty  in  the  list  of  nations.  These 
are  the  people — the  French  small  farmers — by 
whom  the  French  stallions  are  bred  from  work- 
ing stock  and  of  the  French  horses  of  draft 
blood  the  Percheron  must  be  taken  as  the  typi- 
cal example. 

The  greatness  of  the  British  draft  breeds  is 
everywhere  conceded,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  the 
maintenance  of  great  studs  in  plethoric  idle- 
ness has  added  anything  to  the  sum  total  of 
their  excellence. 

Put  the  stallion  to  work.  Break  him  like  any 
other  horse,  preferably  as  a  two-year-old,  and 
make  him  do  light,  but  not  real,  work  at  that 
age.  At  three  make  him  do  what  other  colts 
of  his  age  are  required  to  do.  If  an  unbroken 
stallion  of  workable  age  is  purchased,  let  the 
breaking  be  the  first  thing  undertaken  with  him. 
It  will  not  generally  prove  a  hard  job,  for  a  stal- 
lion is  seldom  afraid.  Gradually  toughen  him 
into  doing  his  full  day's  work  as  one  of  a  team. 
It  is  preferable  to  hitch  an  entire  horse  with 
a  mare,  but  if  it  comes  handier  to  work  him  with 
a  gelding  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not 
be  matched  in  that  way.  There  is  a  popular  im- 
pression that  a  gelding  worked  with  a  stallion 
will  not  thrive.  There  is  no  truth  in  any  such 
assumption.  As  a  rule  a  stallion  is  more  bull- 
headed  than  a  gelding  or  mare.  Always  make 
him  behave.  It  was  a  great  engineer  who  in- 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  5 1 

vented  the  whip.  If  the  horse  is  inclined  to  nip 
at  and  bother  his  mate,  tie  a  staff  of  the  proper 
length  according  to  the  job  on  hand  from  the 
inner  ring  of  his  bit  to  the  shank-ring  of  a 
halter  on  the  head  of  the  other  horse  in  the  pair, 
or  to  the  upper  ring  on  the  hames.  Use  good 
stout  harness  and  never  forget  that  there  is  a 
stallion  in  the  team.  Do  not  let  him  yell  and 
squeal  and  generally  make  a  nuisance  of  him- 
self. Make  him  behave  like  a  gentleman. 

In  addition  to  the  good  health  and  vigor 
which  accrue  to  the  stallion  kept  in  regular 
work  in  the  harness  there  are  other  blessings 
which  he  wins  through  having  to  earn  his  daily 
bread.  One,  and  I  count  it  among  the  most  im- 
portant, is  the  companionship  of  man,  and  an- 
other is  a  good  place  to  sleep  and  eat.  Thrice 
blessed  is  the  stallion  which  works  every  day, 
lives  in  cleanliness  and  comfort  among  the  other 
horses,  sees  human  beings  and  often  hears  the 
human  voice.  Thrice  cursed  is  the  poor  beast 
which  is  banished  to  some  out  of  the  way  corner 
of  the  farmstead,  closed  up  in  some  dirty  old 
stall,  banked  deep,  perhaps,  with  manure,  forced 
to  seek  the  light  of  day  and  the  fresh  air  in  a 
yard  which,  never  cleansed,  is  in  damp  weather 
a  compound  essence  of  filth  and  other  abomina- 
tions, and  fed  more  or  less  occasionally  when 
some  one  happens  to  remember  about  him.  Free- 
ly worked,  the  legs  of  a  stallion  will  seldom  go 
wrong.  Condemned  to  solitary  confinement  in 


52  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

a  germ-infected  tenement  his  legs  seldom  stay 
right.  Worked  freely,  intelligently  fed,  prop- 
erly groomed  and  stabled,  a  stallion  will  re- 
main a  normal  sort  of  beast.  A  solitary  pris- 
oner, he  generally  contracts  the  habits  of  mas- 
turbating, crib-biting  or  lip-slapping,  or  his 
temper  may  go  altogether.  And  who  shall  say 
with  truth  that  the  poor  brute  has  been  to 
blame  ? 

Exercise  and  plenty  of  it  the  stallion  must 
have.  The  rational  way  is  to  work  him.  That 
is  far  better  than  walking  him  along  the  road. 
Still,  some  exercise  is  better  than  stagnation  on 
the  principle  that  a  small  bone  is  better  than 
none  to  a  hungry  dog — but  some  is  never 
enough.  It  is  an  abominable  chore  to  walk  a 
stallion  along  the  road  for  eight  miles  or  so. 
Few  grooms  can  resist  the  temptation  to  sol- 
dier at  such  a  job.  It  is  better  to  drive  a  horse 
than  to  lead  him,  but  if  he  is  broken  to  harness 
at  all  he  might  as  well  work  and  so  earn  his 
keep. 

Finishing  up  this  matter  of  exercising  stal- 
lions I  believe  that  every  stallion  should  have 
some  good  sharp  work  every  week-day  of  his 
life.  Drafters  should  be  sharpened  up  at  the 
trot.  Make  them  step  along  occasionally  as 
though  they  amounted  to  something.  Just  be- 
cause a  horse  is  entire  is  no  reason  why  he 
should  be  allowed  to  loaf.  The  gait  of  the 
drafter  is  the  walk  with  a  heavy  load  behind 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  53 

him,  to  be  sure,  but  he  should  be  able  to  get 
out  and  trot  on  occasion  and  not  fall  all  over 
himself.  If  a  coach  stallion  is  to  be  trusted  to 
beget  coach  or  carriage  horses  of  good  to  high 
class  he  should  be  able  to  do  just  what  is  ex- 
pected of  his  get.  If  he  can  not  step  along  the 
road  at  a  fair  clip  and  keep  it  up  for  a  reason- 
able distance,  get  one  that  can.  It  is  hard 
enough  to  find  stallions  that  will  transmit 
strongly  and  regularly  the  good  qualities  which 
they  possess  themselves;  it  is  nothing  short  of 
folly  to  expect  them  to  transmit  those  which 
they  have  not. 

If  a  stallion  is  worked  the  feeding  problem 
solves  itself.  He  will  get  his  regular  rations 
every  day,  and  while  I  prefer  oats  and  bran 
it  does  not  so  much  matter  what  a  working  stal- 
lion gets  to  eat  so  long  as  he  gets  enough  and 
the  quality  is  good.  There  is  no  wonderful 
secret  formula  for  feeding  stallions  in  or  out  of 
the  season.  Oats  and  bran,  about  one-fifth  bran 
by  weight,  form  the  best  ration.  With  the  work- 
ing stallion  the  ration  should  always  be  the 
same.  Corn  is  good  feed  also  for  a  stallion  that 
is  worked,  providing  it  is  not  changed. 

Time  was  when  I  believed  that  for  stallions 
during  the  season  it  was  an  excellent  plan  to 
give  a  mash  of  boiled  barley  every  Wednesday 
and  Saturday  night,  but  I  have  changed  my  no- 
tions. Time  also  was  when  I  advocated  the  use 
of  cut  or  chopped  hay  in  feeding  stallions.  Ex- 


54  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

periments  have,  however,  shown  that  the  addi- 
tion of  this  material  to  a  horse's  grain  ration 
makes  no  appreciable  difference  in  the  manner 
in  which  the  grain  is  digested.  If  a  stallion  is 
a  very  hoggish  feeder  it  may  pay  to  mix  hay 
cut  or  chopped  in  half  or  three-quarter-inch 
lengths  with  his  grain,  for  the  reason  that  the 
sharp  ends  will  keep  him  from  bolting  his  food, 
but  when  the  ration  is  fed  as  a  mash  the  cut 
hay  soon  gets  soft  and  is  bolted  with  the  rest 
of  the  food. 

Most  stallions  get  too  much  hay ;  in  fact,  that 
is  true  of  most  farm  horses.  A  good  rule  to  fol- 
low as  a  basis  for  finding  out  how  much  grain 
and  hay  to  feed  is  to  allow  one  pound  of  each 
to  every  hundredweght  the  horse  weighs.  Some 
will  need  more,  some  less.  With  this  as  a  basis 
of  experiment  the  ordinarily  observant  man 
will  soon  be  able  to  tell,  by  noticing  condition 
closely,  how  much  the  horse  needs.  In  all  cases 
feed  enough — just  so  he  comes  good  and  hungry 
to  the  next  meal,  and  feed  three  times  a  day. 
This  basis  will  hold  good  for  feeding  all  horses 
on  the  farm.  Feed  most  of  the  hay  at  night. 
For  instance,  if  17  or  18  pounds  of  hay  are  to  be 
fed  per  day,  feed  five  or  six  in  the  morning, 
none  at  noon  and  the  remainder  at  night.  If  it 
is  not  all  cleaned  up  feed  less.  I  also  believed 
once  that  grass  during  the  season  was  good  for 
a  stallion.  I  do  not  think  so  now,  especially  if 
the  horse  is  worked. 


MANAGEMENT   OF  THE  STALLION.  55 

Unfortunately  for  the  horse  breeding  busi- 
ness, in  most  rural  districts  stallions  are  not 
worked.  After  the  season,  perhaps  from  the 
middle  to  the  end  of  July,  the  horse  is  too  often 
banished  from  active  participation  in  the  life 
of  the  farm.  He  is  seldom  groomed,  his  stall  is 
cleaned  out  perhaps  on  rainy  days,  and  such  ex- 
ercise as  he  gets  he  must  needs  take  in  a  small 
lot  which  in  a  rainy  time  becomes  a  manurial 
quagmire.  His  rations  are  cut  down  almost  to 
the  vanishing  point,  all  except  the  hay,  and  of 
that  he  gets  about  all  he  will  eat — much  to  his 
detriment.  As  cold  weather  comes  along  the 
horse  gets  less  and  less  care,  the  dandruff  in  his 
coat  accumulates,  and  if  he  is  of  a  hairy-legged 
sort  his  shanks  get  into  bad  shape.  Along  about 
the  end  of  February  his  owner,  with  the  avowed 
intention  of  getting  the  horse  ready  to  make  a 
season,  begins  to  tear  out  the  thick  dirty  coat 
and  pour  feed  into  the  horse.  A  more  .or  less 
spasmodic  attempt  is  made  at  exercising  the 
poor  beast,  and  when  the  first  mares  come  along 
he  is  expected  to  be  in  proper  fix  to  get  them 
with  foal.  A  worse  method  of  treating  a  stal- 
lion could  hardly  be  devised. 

If  anyone  can  not  see  that  it  is  to  his  interest 
to  work  his  stallion  and  persists  in  keeping  an 
idle  horse  about  his  premises  to  be  nothing  but 
an  expense  for  two-thirds  of  the  year,  then  let 
him  stable  the  horse  properly,  feed  him  grain 
sufficient  to  keep  him  in  round  flesh  at  all  times, 


56  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

groom  him  at  least  once  a  day,  and  give  him  not 
less  than  eight  miles  on  the  road,  rain  or  shine, 
every  week-day.  The  feeding  should  be  done  the 
same  as  when  the  horse  is  worked,  but,  of 
course,  so  much  grain  will  not  be  necessary. 
This  idea  of  deliberately  letting  a  horse  get 
down  skin-poor,  so  that  he  may  be  "  built  up 
again, "  is  all  bosh.  Better  keep  him  in  good 
shape,  round  and  pleasant  to  look  at,  though 
not  loaded  with  tallow,  at  all  times.  When  you 
find  a  stallion  let  down  thin  in  cold  weather  you 
will  generally  hear  his  owner  making  excuses 
for  the  lack  of  flesh  and  the  dirty  coat.  It  is  a 
cardinal  principal  in  business  never  to  make  an 
excuse  or  to  get  into  a  place  where  one  has  to 
be  made.  The  man  who  keeps  his  stallion  in 
poverty  all  winter  may  have  won  out  at  it,  but 
if  he  has  it  is  in  spite  of,  not  because  of,  his 
practices. 

When  it  comes  to  beginning  the  season  with  a 
stallion  that  has  been  worked  it  is  a  very  sim- 
ple matter  to  hitch  him  up  and  start  him  on  his 
rounds,  if  he  is  to  travel.  In  good  hard  flesh  he 
can  make  a  long  distance  each  day  and  feel  all 
the  better  for  it.  A  stallion  that  has  been 
worked  all  winter  should  have  no  trouble  in 
making  as  much  as  twelve  miles  a  day  or  even 
more  if  it  is  necessary.  With  a  stallion  not  ac- 
customed to  the  harness,  eight  will  be  enough. 
If  the  stopping  places  to  be  made  do  not  neces- 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  57 

sitate  this  amount  of  traveling  the  horse  should 
be  exercised  in  the  morning. 

Before  starting  his  season  the  stallion  should 
be  properly  advertised.  No  advertisement  is  as 
good  as  the  horse  himself  stepping  proudly 
down  the  village  street  hooked  up  with  a  fine 
mare.  His  docility,  good  manners  and  attrac- 
tive appearance  in  the  harness  can  not  fail  to 
compel  favorable  attention.  Moreover  when  he 
is  worked  and  driven  frequently  to  town  own- 
ers of  mares  get  to  know  him  well  and,  seeing 
him  often,  are  necessarily  more  impressed  with 
him  than  they  are  by  other  horses  which  are 
kept  cooped  up  at  home  from  one  season's  end 
to  the  next.  Then  the  owner  has  always  the 
chance  to  work  up  sentiment  favorable  to  his 
stallion,  and  there  is  no  owner  of  mares  who 
would  not  rather  breed  them  to  a  horse  likely 
to  be  sure  than  to  one  just  as  good  but  not  so 
much  so.  In  addition  space  in  the  local  news- 
papers should  be  bought  and  used  to  exploit 
the  merits  of  the  horse,  his  breeding,  his  fees 
and  terms,  and  a  detail  of  the  route  he  is  to 
travel  or  the  place  at  which  he  is  to  stand.  Well 
displayed  posters  help — a  little.  There  have 
been  so  many  half-truths  and  untruths  told  by 
this  route  that  men  have  come  to  regard  a  stal- 
lion poster  as  rather  apocryphal  to  say  the 
least,  but  they  will  help  some,  especially  if  the 
detail  of  the  route  to  be  traveled  is  clearly 
stated  (and  then  adhered  to  strictly),  and  the 


58  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

posters  are  securely  nailed  up  in  public  places. 

Most  of  the  states  now  have  laws  granting 
the  stallion  owner  a  lien  on  the  get  or  dam  and 
get  for  the  service  fee.  This  lien  is  usually  op- 
erative only  when  certain  formalities  specified 
in  the  law  are  complied  with.  These  laws 
brought  down  to  date  will  be  found  for  those 
of  the  several  states  and  territories  which  have 
them  in  the  appendix  to  this  volume.  If  the  law 
requires  that  the  horse  be  registered  with  any 
state  or  municipal  official,  the  owner  should  so 
register  him  before  the  season  begins.  When 
the  season  is  closed  the  list  of  mares  covered, 
when  required,  should  always  be  filed.  This 
places  the  owner  in  a  position  where  he  can 
force  any  delinquent  to  pay.  Those  whom  he 
desires  to  favor  may  be  favored  just  as  though 
no  list  has  been  filed.  This  filing  of  the  list  of 
mares  covered  places  no  obligation  on  the  owner 
of  the  horse,  but  it  enables  him  to  force  payment 
if  he  desires  to  do  so  and  protects  him  efficiently. 
In  every  instance  the  owner  should  post  him- 
self as  to  the  requirements  of  the  law  and  then 
comply  with  them  to  the  letter.  This  is  only  a 
matter  of  self-protection  of  which  every  stallion 
owner  should  avail  himself  and  implies  no  dis- 
trust of  his  patrons. 

In  all  advertisements  state  plainly  the  terms 
on  which  the  horse  is  to  stand.  In  addition  have 
cards  printed  containing  on  one  side  three  con- 
tracts (fees  to  suit)  worded  like  this: 


MANAGEMENT   OF  THE  STALLION.  59 


PERCHERON    STALLION    ROBERT. 

Registered  No in  Stud  Book  of  Percheron 

Society  of  America. 
(Insert  pedigree  if  desired.) 

Will  stand  by  the  season,  from  April  1  to  July  1,  at 
$10.  Fee  due  at  end  of  season.  In  case  mare  fails  to  get 
in  foal  during  the  season  she  may  be  returned  free  for  the 
following  season  or  another  mare  substituted  for  her  next 
reason. 

I  accept  the  season  contract. 

Signature 

(Of  owner  of  mare  bred.) 

Will  stand  by  insurance.     $20   to  insure  a  rnare  with 

foal.     Fee  payable  when  mare  is  known  to  be  in  foal.     1 

agree  to  return  mare  regularly  for  trial,  and  if  I  fail  to 

return  her  as  agreed  I  promise  to  pay  the  season  fee  of  $10. 

I  accept  the  insurance  contract. 

Signature v 

(Of  owner  of  mafe  bred.) 

Will  stand  by  the  leap  or  single  service,  at  $5.  Fee 
payable  at  time  of  service. 


It  should  be  understood  that  this  is  merely  a  sample 
form  to  be  used  for  stallions  of  any  breed. 

On  the  other  side  print  words  to  this  effect : 

(Post  office)      (State)      (Date) 

Bred  this  day  for ,   

(Mare  owner's  name.)          (Address) 

One mare,  markings  as  follows:   

(Color)  (Note  marks  plainly.) 

Name  

Terms  of  service Fee  $ 

(Insert  terms  here.) 

On   insurance   contract   mare   is   to   be   returned   for   trial 
(Insert  dates  specifically  as  agreed.) 

(Signature  of  owner  or  groom.) 
(Signature  of  owner  of  mare.) 


60  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

Whenever  a  mare  is  brought  to  be  bred  hand 
the  owner  of  her  one  of  these  cards,  and  when  he 
has  decided  under  which  contract  he  desires  to 
breed  her  make  him  sign  his  name  to  that  partic- 
ular agreement.  Then  fill  in  the  other  side  of  the 
card.  Always  be  sure  to  get  the  dates  down 
and  that  they  agree  on  both  sides  of  the  card. 
When  the  owner  of  a  mare  signs  such  a  con- 
tract he  is  held  for  the  payment  undertaken. 
A  man  who  will  not  sign  such  a  document  is 
usually  a  good  one  to  let  take  his  mare  to  some 
other  horse.  To  protect  himself  in  an  insur- 
ance contract  a  stallion  owner  should  make  it 
plain  that  the  return  of  the  mare  is  the  busi- 
ness of  her  owner.  Most  breeding  on  farms  is 
done  by  insurance.  The  courts  have  held  that 
if  a  man  breeds  his  mare  by  insurance  he  is  not 
bound  to  return  her  if  she  fails  to  settle  at  the 
first  leap  or  at  any  other  leap.  In  a  plain  in- 
surance contract  the  stallion  owner  takes  his 
chances  of  the  mare  being  got  with  foal  the  first 
leap  and  he  gets  a  higher  price  for  it  if  she 
does.  If  the  mare  does  not  settle  there  is  no 
duty  imposed  on  the  mare  owner  to  pay  any- 
thing or-  to  bring  her  back.  If  on  the  other 
hand  it  is  plainly  stated  in  the  contract  that 
mares  bred  to  insure  and  not  regularly  returned 
must  be  paid  for  at  season's  rates,  they  will 
come  back  until  they  do  settle  or  the  season 
ends,  or  their  owners  must  pay. 

Stallion  fees  are  too  low  in  farming  regions 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  61 

as  a  general  thing.  This  applies  only  to  pure- 
bred stallions.  Grades  are  dear  at  any  price. 
A  common  fee  is  $15  to  insure,  and  let  us  say 
the  stallion  owner  actually  gets  paid  for  foals 
from  half  the  mares  covered.  For  the  ease  of 
computation  let  us  put  the  number  of  foals 
paid  for  at  50  in  the  case  of  a  mature  horse.  At 
$15  each  this  amounts  in  all  to  $750.  It  will 
cost  around  $200  a  year  to  pay  a  good  groom 
during  the  season  and  feed  the  horse.  Then 
there  is  also  the  interest  in  the  money  invested 
to  be  considered  and  the  risk — whatever  that 
may  amount  to.  Suppose  the  horse  cost  $1,500, 
the  interest  at  5  per  cent  would  be  $75.  At  8 
per  cent  on  $1,000  for  insurance  against  death, 
and  counting  nothing  for  depreciation,  the  total 
expenses  would  be  $355.  But  the  stallion  will 
decrease  in  value  from  year  to  year,  so  suppose 
we  write  off  another  $100.  This  makes  a  total 
expense  of  $455  to  be  charged  against  a  gross 
income  of  $750.  The  margin  is  not  large.  In- 
surance may  not  actually  be  carried  and  the 
money  may  not  be  paid  out,  but  the  owner  is 
entitled  to  compensation  if  he  carries  the  risk 
himself,  just  as  he  is  entitled  to  credit  for  the 
grain  the  horse  eats  and  which  otherwise  might 
have  been  converted  into  cash.  With  a  net  in- 
come of  around  $300  it  takes  a  $1,500  horse 
five  years  to  pay  for  himself.  Some  horses 
will  do  better  and  some  worse.  Taking  the 
average,  the  figures  will  not  be  found  far  out 


62  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

of  the  way  in  either  direction.  An  extra  $5  per 
foal  paid  for  practically  doubles  the  profit.  It 
is  plain  that  with  a  $15  fee  the  limit,  no  man 
can  afford  to  buy  a  very  good  stallion,  for  such 
cannot  be  bought,  as  values  now  range  at  least, 
for  $1,500  or  less.  The  stallion  fee  business  is 
one  in  which  it  will  pay  the  mare  owners  well 
to  let  the  other  fellow  make  a  dollar  once  in  a 
while. 

There  is  something  wrong  with  this  stallion 
fee  business  anyway,  and  there  always  has  been. 
The  service  fee  has  from  time  immemorial  been 
about  the  last  thing  the  average  farmer  has 
thought  of  paying.  It  seems  to  be  a  prevailing 
impression  that  the  fee  is  "easy  money, "  and 
therefore  the  bill  for  it  deserving  of  scant  con- 
sideration. Then  in  their  far  too  fierce  compe- 
tition stallion  men  have  let  their  bills  run  and 
run  along  till  most  of  them  have  lost  a  lot  of 
money  through  their  good  nature.  In  fact,  it  is 
the  exception  to  find  a  stallion  owner  conduct 
his  business  on  business  principles.  Insuring 
the  foal  to  stand  and  suck,  as  a  business  propo- 
sition, is  something  no  other  variety  of  com- 
merce would  tolerate.  In  so  doing  the  stallion 
owner  insures  not  only  the  proper  treatment 
of  the  mare  and  against  the  incidents  and  acci- 
dents of  parturition,  but  also  against  battle, 
murder,  sudden  death,  violence  and  pestilence  as 
well  as  the  slight  pathological  disarrangement  of 
the  fetal  membranes  through  which,  as  already 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  63 

explained,  nourishment  is  conveyed  from  dam 
to  foal.  If  owners  of  mares  can  coax  or  force 
a  stallion  owner  to  carry  such  insurance  for 
them  well  and  good.  That  is  their  business, 
but  the  stallion  owner  is  foolish  to  be  intimi- 
dated or  cajoled  in  any  such  way. 

A  good  leader  is  essential  to  the  best  success 
of  any  stallion.  The  man  who  will  best  succeed 
as  the  caretaker  of  a  stallion  must  be  a  fairly 
shrewd  judge  of  human  nature,  a  bit  of  a  poli- 
tician and  a  good  mixer  as  well  as  thoroughly 
versed  in  his  business.  With  a  valuable  horse 
it  always  pays  to  hire  a  good  man.  .English- 
men and  Scotchmen,  by  reason  of  their  special 
training  in  the  old  country  or  by  old  country 
parents  here,  have  so  far  enjoyed  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  the  best  stallion  leaders  we  have, 
they  are  usually  the  most  careful  of  their 
charges.  They  have  been  brought  up  to  the 
business  and  know  its  ins  and  outs.  A  groom 
that  cannot  be  trusted  to  be  always  on  the  spot 
is  little  better  than  no  groom  at  all.  Get  a 
good  man  anyway,  no  matter  what  his  nation- 
ality, and  then  keep  him,  though  that  is  not  al- 
ways easy.  My  experience  has  been  that  good 
leaders  are  generally  men  of  peculiar  tempera 
ment. 

Every  man  who  makes  a  business  of  stand- 
ing stallions  should  have  a  properly  construct- 
ed breeding  plant.  This  need  not  be  expensive. 
It  should  consist  of  good  solid  footing  on  which 


64  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

to  breed  mares,  and  for  this  reason  a  shed  is 
preferable  to  an  open  yard.  Let  the  yard  or 
shed  be  concealed  from  view  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  always  at  some  distance  from  the 
dwelling  house — for  obvious  reasons.  At  a 
convenient  spot  erect  the  teazing  pole  to  form  a 
sort  of  stall  in  which  to  try  the  mares.  I  like 
it  best  with  the  wall  of  the  shed  or  tight-board 
fence  of  the  yard  forming  the  off  side  of  it. 
For  the  pole  part  of  it  set  two  stout  posts  deep- 
ly in  the  ground  parallel  to  the  wall  and  dis- 
tant from  it  about  the  width  of  an  ordinary 
standing  stall  in  a  stable.  Set  these  posts 
about  eight  feet  apart  and  to  them,  three  feet 
and  eight  inches  from  the  ground,  bolt  a  smooth 
six-inch  pole  of  some  tough  wood — hickory  of 
course  preferred.  Take  the  bark  off  it  and 
round  off  all  corners  and  edges.  At  the  front 
end  of  the  stall  so  formed  build  a  stout  little 
pen.  Into  this  the  foal  of  a  nursing  mare  may 
be  bundled  with  little  trouble  and  with  it  in 
front  of  her  the  mare  will  stand  quiet  enough 
without  fretting  as  she  surely  will  if  it  is  out 
of  her  sight.  When  the  mare  is  in  place,  lead 
the  horse  from  his  box,  make  him  come  up 
quietly  at  right  angles  to  her  and  do  not  let  him 
rear  and  tear  all  over  the  place  in  his  efforts 
to  get  at  her.  There  is  no  sense  in  letting  a 
horse  nip  and  fuss  and  fool  with  a  mare  for 
half  an  hour.  Sometimes  it  may  be  necessary 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  65 

to  exercise  so  much  patience,  but  as  a  rule  it  is 
not. 

Breeding  hopples  have  prevented  many  an 
accident.  It  is  always  safer  to  use  them,  no 
matter  how  gentle  a  mare  may  be,  and  it  only 
takes  a  moment  of  time  to  adjust  them.  The 
illustration  gives  a  good  idea  of  them  and  their 
use.  Be  sure  that  they  are  tight  enough.  Never 
let  the  stallion  get  within  range  of  an  ill-tem- 
pered mare's  heels.  He  can  usually  take  care 
of  himself  when  approaching  her  or  mounting. 
If  he  can  get  his  weight  on  her  back  she  can  not 
hump  herself  to  kick.  Most  of  the  accidents  re- 
sulting in  injuries  to  stallions  by  vicious  mares 
happen  when  the  horse  is  dismounting  and  more 
or  less  in  an  exhausted  condition,  not  looking 
out  for  attack.  Once  a  man  gets  a  horse  kicked 
he  will  think  a  whole  lot  of  the  hopples  he 
might  have  used.  This  is  one  of  these  common 
cases  in  which  an  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth 
an  ocean  of  regret.  In  all  cases  when  going 
to  his  mare  make  the  horse  get  to  her  from  the 
side,  not  from  behind. 

All  sorts  of  stallion  bridles  are  in  use.  Only 
comparatively  fewhorses  need  very  severe  hand- 
ling. An  ordinary  bridle  made  strong  enough 
and  fitted  with  a  straight  bar  bit  and  a  lead  rein 
with  a  chain  at  one  end  is  usually  strong  enough 
to  control  the  horse.'  Snap  the  chain  into  the 
off  bit-ring  and  pass  the  other  end  through  the 
near  ring,  thus  bringing  the  chain  below  the 


66  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

jaw.  If  a  smooth,  close-linked  supple  chain  is 
used  any  good  handler  can  make  his  horse  at- 
tend to  business.  The  most  severe  apparatus 
consists  of  a  bar  of  iron  about  %-inch  in  thick- 
ness and  8  inches  long  fitted  with  rings  on  both 
ends,  the  one  welded  into  the  off-bit  ring  and 
the  other  passed  below  the  jaw  through  the  ring 
on  the  near  side.  To  the  ring  on  the  near  end 
of  the  bar  a  strap  is  attached.  The  bit  used 
with  the  bar  is  a  plain  snaffle,  and  naturally  the 
leverage  obtained  is  tremendous,  but  its  use  is 
seldom  necessary.  Never  pass  the  lead  rein  up 
over  the  head.  That  is  an  indefensible  practice 
in  handling  stallions.  By  passing  the  line  over 
the  head  most  of  the  leverage  is  destroyed  and 
gives  little  more  purchase  than  if  the  rein  is 
snapped  into  the  near  ring  of  the  bit  only. 
Most  of  the  purchase,  such  as  it  is,  comes  on 
the  top  of  the  head,  and  you  can  not  do  much 
trying  to  control  a  stallion  by  his  poll.  Best  of 
all  is  to  break  the  horse  to  behave  himself  so 
that  he  may  be  led  out  to  his  work  with  an  ordi- 
nary cotton-rope  halter. 

In  the  matter  of  allowing  a  two-year-old  stal- 
lion to  cover  mares,  experience  teaches  that 
from  eight  to  ten  will  not  interfere  with  his  de- 
velopment in  any  way  if  he  is  full-fed.  Colts 
of  this  age  are  usually  sure.  Only  those  which 
are  well  developed  and  vigorous  should  be  per- 
mitted to  serve.  The  two-year-old  colt  may  be 
allowed  to  cover  about  one  mare  every  five 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  STALLION.  67 

days.  For  a  three-year-old  the  limit  should  be 
from  25  to  30.  A  horse  will  average  about  three 
covers  for  every  foal  he  begets,  if  he  is  reason- 
ably sure,  taking  mares  as  they  run  through 
most  country  districts.  If  a  three-year-old  gets 
half  his  mare  in  foal,  or  15,  he  will  make  about 
45  covers  or  about  three  to  the  week  for  the 
15  weeks  of  the  season.  This  makes  about  one 
every  two  days,  not  counting  Sunday.  For  a 
four-year-old  from  40  to  50  mares  are  enough. 
He  may  make  a  slightly  longer  season,  or  about 
115  days,  and  if  he  gets  25  foals  he  should  make 
75  covers.  This  is  about  three  every  two  days. 
A  mature  horse  should  be  limited  mostly  to  two 
covers  daily,  perhaps  three  at  a  pinch,  but 
never  more,  and  then  seldom.  It  is  better  to 
be  conservative  in  this  business  of  breeding 
mares.  Remember  that  it  is  the  number  of 
foals  begotten  that  in  the  end  pay  the  bill,  not 
the  number  of  mares  covered. 

Watch  out  sharply  and  never  breed  a  mare 
that  shows  any  sort  of  abnormal  discharge  from 
the  vagina.  If  she  has  such  a  discharge  she 
will  not  get  with  foal  anyway,  and  she  may  give 
the  stallion  some  virulent  disease.  If  by  care- 
lessness or  unavoidable  occurrence  the  horse 
has  been  allowed  to  serve  a  mare  with  an 
abnormal  discharge  the  entire  penis  should 
immediately  be  washed  with  a  1-100  solution  of 
a  good  coaltar  dip  and  the  sheath  should  be 
freely  syringed  to  head  off  possible  infection. 


68  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

Never  put  lard  or  vaseline  or  other  greasy  sub- 
stances in  the  sheath.  If  a  mare  has  a  heavy 
cold  or  is  feverish  let  her  go  over  to  another 
heat.  She  will  rarely  get  with  foal  when  in 
such  a  condition,  so  the  service  will  most  likely 
be  wasted. 

Many  stallions  fall  into  the  habit  of  mastur- 
bation. Prevention  is  far  better  than  cure,  and 
the  best  preventive  is  work  and  the  constant 
companionship  of  man.  Horses  are  unlike 
bulls,  rams  and  boars ;  it  is  hard  to  catch  them 
at  it.  If  a  horse  is  under  suspicion  but  can  not 
be  detected,  clean  every  particle  of  bedding  out 
of  his  stall  and  stay  with  him  for  eight  or  ten 
hours.  Then  close  him  up  and  leave  him  by 
himself  for  a  little  while.  If  he  is  abusing  him- 
self the  evidences  will  shortly  be  visible  on  the 
clean  floor  of  the  stall.  Once  the  habit  is  con- 
tracted it  is  practically  impossible  to  put  a  stop 
to  it.  It  is  common  among  race  horses  and  all 
other  horses  that  are  idle  and  alone  most  of  the 
time.  Many  different  kinds  of  shields  to  pre- 
vent the  extrusion  of  the  penis  are  on  the  mar- 
ket, but  I  have  little  faith  in  any  of  them.  Some 
men  have  reported  success  gained  by  slipping  an 
ivory  ring  over  the  gland  at  the  end  of  the 
penis,  just  tight  enough  to  prevent  erection, 
but  not  tight  enough  to  shut  off  circulation. 
Others  have  reported  failure  and  a  few  disas- 
ter. I  do  not  like  it.  If  it  is  desired 
to  try  the  ring  on  a  horse  which  has 


MANAGEMENT   OF  THE  STALLION.  69 

contracted  this  habit,  get  an  ivory  ring 
and  have  it  fitted  by  a  veterinarian.  Hard 
rubber  rings  have  been  used  for  this  purpose. 
Avoid  them.  On  no  account  be  so  foolish  as  to 
hang  a  currycomb  or  a  corn-brush  or  some 
other  lacerating  instrument  just  in  front  of  the 
sheath  with  the  object  of  hurting  the  penis 
when  an  effort  is  made  to  extrude  it.  It  is  a 
bad  business  all  around,  and  the  best  thing  is 
to  prevent  it  by  working  the  horse  regularly 
and  letting  him  share  in  the  life  of  the  farm. 

A  few  don'ts  are  now  in  order.  Don't  let  a 
stallion  roar  like  a  pirate  whenever  the  door  of 
his  box  is  opened.  Don't  let  him  rear  and 
sprawl  all  over  the  lot  after  he  is  led  out.  Don't 
let  him  plunge  forward  when  going  to  cover. 
Make  him  come  easy  at  it.  Don't  dope  him  with 
drugs  to  make  him  more  anxious.  Don't  take 
every  old  mare  that  comes  along.  Don't  let  the 
horse  cover  on  Sunday  to  oblige  anybody. 
Don't  run  down  your  neighbor 's -stallion.  Don't 
act  like  the  traditional  "stud  hoss  man."  Don't 
take  any  stock  in  the  hoary  old  fictions  that  so 
generally  prevail.  Don't  cut  prices.  Don't 
make  a  rich  man  a  present  of  $20  or  $25  be- 
cause he  has  four  or  five  mares  to  breed.  Don't 
knock ;  be  a  booster. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MANAGEMENT  OF  BROOD  MAEES  AND 
FOALS. 

As  it  is  with  the  breeding  stallion  so  it  is  with 
the  brood  mare;  it  is  best  to  work  her  when- 
ever possible.  A  mare  that  is  worked  intelli- 
gently, not  pulled  hard,  properly  fed  and  well 
housed  will  usually  carry  her  foal  to  the  ap- 
pointed time  and  bear  it  with  little  trouble.  If 
the  pregnant  mare  is  worked  the  feeding  prob- 
lem solves  itself  once  more — any  good  food,  free 
from  dust  an'd  mold,  will  serve  her  purpose  well 
if  she  is  given  enough  of  it.  Special  care  should 
always  be  exercised  to  see  that  hay  and  grain 
fed  to  pregnant  mares  are  absolutely  free  from 
dust  or  mold  or  other  evidences  of  decay.  Abor- 
tion, is  a  likely  consequence  of  feeding  moldy 
hay  or  grain.  Changes  of  food  are  not  advisa- 
ble and  are  to  be  avoided. 

It  is,  however,  impossible  to  work  brood 
mares  where  a  large  number  are  kept.  Plenty 
of  exercise  is  an  essential  to  good  health  in  all 
horses  and  this  is  best  given  idle  mares  in  win- 
ter by  allowing  them  the  run  of  a  large  field. 
Perhaps  the  best  exercising  ground  for  brood 
mares  in  all  parts  of  the  country  is  a  large  pas- 
ture on  which  a  goodly  portion  of  the  herbage 
has  been  allowed  to  mature.  Anywhere  in  the 
cornbelt  blue  grass  grows  luxuriantly,  and  if  it 

70 


MANAGEMENT   OF    BEOOD    MAEES.  71 

is  not  grazed  closely  after  the  autumn  rains 
come,  but  allowed  to  grow  rank  and  thick,  it 
will  cure  on  the  ground  and  prove  a  great  at- 
traction in  cold  weather,  even  if  the  snowfall  is 
rather  heavy.  Mares  will  do  a  lot  of  hustling  to 
get  such  herbage  in  winter.  An  ideal  pasture 
for  this  purpose  has  trees  enough  on  it  to  form 
some  shelter. 

Brood  mares  should  be  kept  out  of  stalkfields. 
Cornstalks  which  are  left  to  leach  and  blacken 
and  rot  as  they  grew  are  indigestible  at  the  best, 
and  there  is  usually  a  lot  of  smut  (ergot)  and 
other  harmful  matter,  the  nature  of  which  is 
not  clearly  understood,  available  in  a  cornfield. 
If  a  pasture  such  as  has  been  described  can  not 
be  provided,  free  range  of  some  sort  must  be. 

Brood  mares  are  usually  quarrelsome  and 
many  accidents  are  due  to  their  innate  meanness 
of  disposition.  One  of  the  commonest  sights  on 
a  large  farm  in  winter  is  some  cross  old  mare, 
with  her  ears  laid  back,  rushing  wickedly  at 
some  unoffending  companion  and  chasing  her 
off,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  ill-natured 
one  is  the  boss.  Often  if  some  show  of  resist- 
ance is  made,  the  aggressor  will  whirl  and  plant 
her  heels  in  some  more  or  less  vulnerable  part 
of  the  mare  attacked.  On  account  of  this  sort 
of  disposition  being  common  in  pregnant  mares 
they  should  have  abundant  freedom  whenever 
any  large  number  of  them  are  turned  together. 


72  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

To  turn  eight  or  ten  mares  into  a  small  yard  is 
to  invite  trouble  of  a  costly  character. 

The  watering-trough  is  a  fruitful  source  of 
grief.  The  boss  mare  always  considers  that  she 
alone  has  a  divine  right  to  drink  and  she  does 
her  best  to  prove  it  by  rushing  the  others  away 
from  the  water.  All  this  indicates  that  some 
common  sense  care  of  such  animals  at  such 
times  is  essential.  Another  foolish  trick  we 
often  see  played  is  to  turn  a  lot  of  mares  and 
colts  out  at  the  same  time  and  head  them  on  the 
run  for  a  narrow  gate.  Every  one  of  them 
wants  to  go  through  the  opening  at  -the  same 
moment,  and  accidents  often  result  from  their 
crowding.  It  seems  to  be  a  genuine  pleasure 
to  some  cross  old  matron  to  lash  out  freely  and 
bite  hard  when  there  is  no  show  for  her  com- 
panions to  get  beyond  her  reach.  It  is  far 
safer,  though  it  takes  a  little  longer  time,  to  let 
horses  out  a  few  together  and  see  that  the  cro>ss 
mares  are  well  outside  the  gate  before  the  rest 
come  to  it.  Also  see  to  it  that  the  gate  is  plenty 
wide  enough.  Use  woven  wire  for  fencing  with 
one  barb-wire  on  the  top,  not  less  than  52  inches 
from  the  ground,  the  woven  wire  being  48  inches 
wide.  Keep  fences  in  repair  and  allow  no  dam- 
age to  go  unrepaired  a  moment  longer  than  it  is 
necessary  to  fix  it,  once  it  is  discovered. 

It  is  astounding  that  men  have  seen  the  same 
old  tricks  of  the  same  old  mares  for  years,  lost 
money  by  them  and  yet  not  moved  a  hand  to 


MANAGEMENT   OF    BROOD    MAKES.  73 

remedy  the  trouble.  There  is  no  sense  in  per- 
mitting mares  to  quarrel  and  jam  and  fight  and 
crowd.  If  one  is  entirely  boss  of  all  the  rest 
and  is  inclined  to  be  reasonably  peaceable  she 
will  not  do  harm  if  she  is  intelligently  handled, 
but  if  she  is  wicked  and  vicious  she  should  be 
kept  by  herself.  It  is  all  stuff  and  nonsense 
about  the  greatest  mares  always  being  cross. 
Mark  this  well :  it  is  the  little  things  that  make 
for  complete  success.  If  only  one-half  of  the 
colts  which  annually  go  wrong  through  careless- 
ness of  their  owners  should  be  kept  right,  mil- 
lions of  dollars  would  be  added  yearly  to  far- 
mers' bank  accounts. 

Good  shelter  brood  mares  must  have.  The 
ideal  condition  is  when  each  mare  can  have  a 
boxstall  to  herself,  but  few  mares  are  equipped 
in  this  way.  The  ideal  breeding  stable  con- 
sists of  boxstalls  facing  the  south,  with  a  small 
yard  in  front  of  each,  the  yards  being  separated 
by  fences  over  or  through  which  the  mares  may 
hob-nob  for  company's  sake,  yet  not  injure  each 
other.  Every  farm,  though,  should  have  at  least 
two  such  boxes.  A  good  tight  shed  well  protect- 
ed on  the  north  and  west  and  open  to  the  south 
will  do  very  well  for  mares  in  cold  weather  if 
they  have  plenty  of  room.  A  spacious  yard 
should  be  in  front  of  the  shed,  facing  to  the 
south  and  well  drained.  A  comfortable  dry  bed 
of  straw  should  always  be  provided  for  horses 
young  and  old,  no  matter  how  they  are  kept.  It 


74  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

is  comfortable  for  them  to  rest  on  and  it  absorbs 
the  fertilizing  elements.  A  wet  place  for  horses 
to  stay  in,  day  or  night,  is  very  bad. 

The  watering-trough  is  usually  in  the  yard, 
but  no  matter  where  it  is  it  should  always  be 
raised  above  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
ground  and  kept  dry  by  the  plentiful  use  of 
gravel.  A  concrete  trough  is  the  best,  with  a 
concrete  platform  entirely  around  it,  well  found- 
ed and  slightly  above  the  rest  of  the  ground. 
If  ice  accumulates  around  the  trough  in  winter 
chop  the  ice  away.  Use  a  tank  heater.  Ice-cold 
water  is  bad  for  all  horses,  but  do  not  go  to 
the  other  extreme  and  get  the  water  too  hot. 
Just  get  the  chill  off.  In  any  case  always  do 
something  to  insure  dry  footing  that  is  not  slip- 
pery around  the  watering  place.  If  in  mixed 
weather  in  winter  ice  forms  in  other  parts  of 
the  yard,  take  the  glare  off  it  somehow  so  that 
the  mares  may  not  slip.  It  pays  well  to  watch 
these  minor  points  in  raising  horses.  Well  ' 
water  is  best  for  them  to  drink.  Creeks  and 
sloughs  are  frequent  and  fruitful  sources  of 
disease  infection. 

In  feeding  idle  mares  it  is  poor  policy  to  let 
them  run  to  hay  or  straw  stacks  at  will  and  stuff 
themselves  with  coarse  fodder.  Bright  clover 
hay  that  was  gotten  into  the  barn  without  rain 
and  is  entirely  free  from  dust  and  mold  is,  used 
in  moderation,  the  best  possible  roughage  for 
brood  mares  and  young  horses.  Eemember 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD    MAKES.  75 

dusty,  moldy  or  otherwise  spoiled  clover  hay  is 
about  as  bad  for  horses  as  it  well  can  be.  Al- 
falfa hay  is  much  like  clover  and  with  both  an 
equal  quantity  of  prairie  or  timothy  hay  should 
be  used.  Well  cured  corn  fodder  may  be  fed  in 
limited  amounts,  but,  frankly,  I  have  never 
liked  it.  I  prefer  whole  fodder  to  the  shredded 
article.  If  it  is  intended  to  use  this  sort  of 
roughage  for  horse-feed,  it  is  best  to  cut  the 
corn  when  it  is  quite  green,  so  that  the  product 
may  be  more  nutritious  and  more  easily  digest- 
ed when  it  is  dry.  Shredded  fodder  makes  ex- 
cellent bedding.  Oat  hay  is  palatable  and  ex- 
cellent results  are  obtained  from  its  use.  Many 
who  have  used  it  report  much  advantage  gained 
from  feeding  sorghum  fodder  in  cold  weather, 
say  from  the  beginning  of  winter  to  the  middle 
of  January.  After  that  sorghum  should  not 
be  fed.  It  seems  that  the  thawing  weather 
usually  experienced  about  that  time  and  later 
works  some  change,  probably  of  a  fermentive 
nature,  that  does  not  agree  with  horses.  Millet 
hay  is  an  abomination  and  so  is  the  so-called 
Hungarian.  Too  much  hay  is  usually  fed  to  all 
farm  horses,  even  in  idleness.  It  is  never  good 
practice  to  keep  hay  in  front  of  horses  all  the 
time.  They  mess  over  it  and  cull  out  the  choic- 
est portions,  and  there  is  a  lot  of  waste.  Bather 
feed  them  regularly  two  or  three  times  a  day 
just  enough  so  they  will  clean  it  up  and  come 
with  keen  appetite  to  the  next  meal. 


76  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

Brood  mares  should  always  have  grain  dur- 
ing the  winter.  No  set  rule  can  be  laid  down 
as  to  quantity,  but  they  should  have  enough  to 
keep  them  in  good  strong  round  flesh  without 
getting  fat.  The  caretaker  must  gauge  the  ra- 
tion necessary  according  to  the  need  and  capac- 
ity of  the  individual.  Each  mare  should  have 
her  own  manger  and  be  tied  up  while  she  is 
eating.  This  takes  time  and  some  bother,  it  is 
true,  but  it  pays.  When  each  mare  is  tied  up 
all  accidents  are  avoided,  and  each  gets  just 
what  she  should  have  and  what  is  intended  for 
her.  If  mares  are  promiscuously  fed  at  a  large 
trough  the  stronger  get  the  most  and  the  weaker 
the  least  or  none  at  all,  and  the  proper  order  is 
just  reversed.  Moreover  when  they  are  tied 
up  at  feeding  time  the  mean  ones  can  do  no 
harm  and  each  mare  is  seen  at  close  range  at 
least  twice  a  day,  which  is  no  bad  thing  in  itself. 

Stalls  with  mangers  for  grain  feeding  mares 
can  be  cheaply  and  strongly  constructed.  Com- 
mon sense  will  dictate  how.  Let  each  mare  be 
put  in  her  place  a  few  times  and  she  will  soon 
learn  where  to  go.  A  horse  learns  most  quickly 
through  the  medium  of  the  feedbox.  Keep  hal- 
ters on  their  heads  and  have  a  short  rope  fitted 
with  a  snap  fastened  in  each  stall.  When  the 
mare  goes  into  her  stall  snap  the  tie-rope  into 
the  ring  of  her  halter.  When  they  are  turned 
out  of  the  stalls  after  eating,  stretch  a  long  rope 
run  through  rings  on  the  stall  posts  and  draw 


MANAGEMENT   OF    BROOD    MARES.  77 

it  tight.  This  will  keep  the  mares  out  of  the 
stalls  when  they  are  not  feeding  or  when  they 
are  not  wanted  there.  The  hay  may  be  fed  in 
racks. 

Corn  is  a  very  general  food  for  brood  mares, 
but  it  is  the  poorest  on  the  entire  list,  though 
not  so  bad  when  fed  in  conjunction  with  clover 
hay.  Oats  and  bran  form  the  best  ration  all 
winter  long — about  one-fourth  or  even  one-third 
bran  by  weight.  It  is  best  to  feed  it  dry.  Sugar 
beets,  carrots  or  rutabagas  are  excellent  for 
mares  in  winter — indeed  for  all  horses — and 
once  they  are  accustomed  to  them  mares  may 
have  them  in  large  quantities,  though  perhaps 
some  seven  or  eight  pounds  per  head  per  day 
will  be  about  right  as  a  steady  diet.  They  may 
be  fed  either  cooked  or  raw,  but  preferably  raw. 
Time  was  when  I  considered  the  feeding  of  slop- 
py stuff  a  necessity  in  properly  wintering  brood 
mares,  but  experience  has  shown  me  that  dry 
feeding  is  best.  Therefore  I  prefer  uncooked 
food.  Silage  I  regard  as  a  horse  killer,  though 
some  men  say  they  have  fed  it  with  success. 
Any  one  is,  of  course,  free  to  experiment  all  he 
wants  to  in  feeding  silage  to  horses  if  he  desires 
to  do  so,  but  if  fed  at  all  it  should  be  in  such 
small  quantities  that  it  does  not  amount  to  much 
one  way  or  other.  Mark  this,  though:  if  the 
silage  is  moldy  it  will  kill  as  surely  as  a  rifle. 
Regularity  in  feeding  is  of  much  benefit.  Feed 


78  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

each  day  at  the  same 'hours,  either  two  or  three 
times. 

In  feeding  horses  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
it  is  an  easy  matter  to  keep  them  fat  and  hearty 
if  they  are  at  first  gradually  accustomed  to  the 
food  they  are  to  receive  and  then  are  given 
plenty  of  it.  It  is  the  sudden  and  great  change 
that  hurts.  As  has  been  said  before,  there  is  no 
wonderful  secret  formula  about  the  feeding  of 
horses.  The  fattest  horse  I  know  is  27  years 
of  age  and  subsists  chiefly  on  stale  bread  and 
damaged  bananas.  Another  very  fat  old  horse 
I  am  acquainted  with  lives  on  edible  refuse 
culled  on  a  garbage  route — cabbage  leaves,  ba- 
nana skins,  crusts  and  the  like — with  a  ration 
of  tough  slough  hay  that  by  good  rights  should 
be  used  for  packing  iron  castings.  Thousands 
of  horses  live,  work  hard  and  keep  fat  or  fairly 
so  in  the  cities  on  alimentation  that  is  merely 
trash.  All  of  this  I  mention  as  showing  that 
there  is  no  wonderful  occult  science  in  feeding 
horses.  It  is  largely  a  matter  of  hard  common 
sense. 

It  should  never  be  forgotten  for  an  instant 
that  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  the 
proper  feeding  of  horses  that  are  working  and 
those  that  are  idle.  Brood  mares  doing  nothing 
would  not  thrive  on  trash.  They  should  have 
the  best  of  everything  and  always  the  cleanest 
of  food,  flence  on  the  farm  where  the  best  is 
available,  give  it  to  them  and  give  them  enough. 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD    MAEES.  79 

Feeding  succulence  in  the  shape  of  the  roots  al- 
ready mentioned  is  far  to  be  preferred  to  the 
feeding  of  soft  food.  Carrots  are  especially  ben- 
eficial. Any  skillful  veterinarian  will  tell  you 
that  sudden  changes  of  food  tend  to  cause  indi- 
gestion with  its  train  of  troubles— colic,  inflam- 
mation and  the  like.  Sticking  to  a  regular  diet 
is  best.  Oats  and  bran  with  clover  and  wild  or 
timothy  hay  and  a  few  roots  as  described  form 
the  ideal  ration  for  broodmares  working  or  idle, 
for  the  reason  that  the  grain  and  hay  supply 
the  necessary  nutriment  for  the  mare  and  the 
foal  she  is  carrying  and  the  roots  keep  the  diges- 
tive apparatus  in  good  working  order. 

In  the  chapter  dealing  with  the  physiological 
processes  of  conception  it  was  made  clear  that 
there  is  no  hocus-pocus  to  be  invoked  when 
mares  are  to  be  got  with  foal.  If  they  are  nor- 
mally healthy  they  should  conceive.  If  they  are 
not  normally  healthy  they  either  will  not  con- 
ceive at  all  or  ocasionally  at  best.  It  is  plain  then 
that  to  turn  a  mare  suddenly  from  a  diet  of  dry 
grain  and  hay  to  pasture  and  from  work  to  idle- 
ness will  so  upset  the  system  as  to  render  con- 
ception unlikely.  Similarly  to  take  a  mare  up 
out  of  pasture  and  put  her  on  a  diet  of  grain  and 
hay  will  have  no  better  results.  When  the  mare 
is  to  be  bred,  let  her  be  kept  exactly  as  she  has 
been  kept,  making  no  changes.  The  quieter  a 
mare  can  be  kept  about  the  time  she  is  embraced 
by  the  horse  the  better  it  will  be  for  her.  Long, 


80  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

hard  drives  to  and  from  the  horse  should  be 
avoided.  If  it  is  desired  to  road  a  mare  any 
great  distance  to  the  stallion,  arrange  to  take 
her  to  him  slowly  and  to  leave  her  near  him  for 
a  time. 

A  mare  bred  on  the  ninth  day  (or  therea- 
bouts) after  foaling  will  quite  generally  con- 
ceive, but  there  is  wide  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  the  proper  day  on  which  a  mare  should  be  re- 
turned to  the  horse  to  be  tried.  Authorities 
never  have  agreed  as  to  this  and  probably  never 
will.  Mares  differ  greatly  in  the  recurrence  of 
their  periods  of  heat,  though  not  so  much  so  as 
to  render  a  general  rule  impossible.  Each  man 
should  size  up  the  condition  of  his  mare  with  re- 
lation to  returning  her,  but  the  weight  of  au- 
thority is  in  favor  of  around  the  eighteenth  day, 
then  the  twenty-fifth  and  the  thirty-second.  She 
should  have  these  three  chances  to  take  the  horse 
before  being  considered  safely  'settled.  If  con- 
ception has  taken  place  the  attentions  of  the 
horse  in  the  teazing  process  will  not  cause  the 
impregnation  to  fail. 

Some  mares  show  no  signs  of  heat  and  stead- 
ily refuse  to  take  the  horse.  This  sort  of  a  case 
is  comparatively  rare,  but  it  is  one  that  need 
cause  no  trouble.  If  a  mare  is  never  willing  to 
be  embraced  by  the  stallion  and  it  is  desired  to 
get  her  to  breeding,  hopple  her  securely  and 
breed  her  anyhow.  It  will  be  found  that  she 
will  come  around  more  or  less  peaceably  in  from 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD    MAEES.  81 

18  to  21  days  after  being  bred  in  this  way.  In- 
cidentally it  may  be  said  that  this  is  true  of 
most  farm  animals — certainly  of  cows  and  ewes, 
as  well  as  mares.  Mares,  of  course,  will  make  a 
tremendous  fuss,  but  that  must  be  put  up  with 
because  it  is  for  the  good  of  all  parties  con- 
cerned. I  have  no  intention  of  straying  out  of 
the  equine  field,  but  I  have  by  advocating  this 
practice  helped  more  than  one  dairyman  out 
who  could  not  induce  his  cows  and  heifers  to 
come  around  so  that  they  would  have  their 
calves  in  the  early  winter.  If  any  one  wants 
good  early  lambs,  moreover,  let  him  get  his  ram 
so  that  he  is  not  afraid — a  good  active  chap- 
hold  the  ewe  by  the  head,  let  the  ram  serve  her, 
and  then  see  if  she  will  not  come  around  loving- 
ly in  due  course  after  the  forced  service.  I  do 
not  advocate  forced  service  except  as  a  last  re- 
sort, but  it  will  work  every  time  and  there  is  no 
danger  in  resorting  to  it  if  the  mare  is  so  han- 
dled that  she  can  not  injure  the  stallion. 

Always  be  careful  to  set  down  accurately  the 
dates  on  which  the  mares  were  covered.  On 
the  average,  as  has  already  been  stated,  the 
pregnancy  will  last  not  far  from  forty-eight 
weeks,  or  about  340  days.  A  calendar  costs 
nothing.  On  one  that  is  of  fairly  good  material 
mark  the  dates  of  covering  and  trying,  then 
mark  the  day  at  the  end  of  forty-eight  weeks 
from  the  date  of  the  last  mating.  As  that  time 
draws  near  watch  the  mare  closely.  Just  how 


82  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

close  a  mare  may  be  worked  to  her  book  date  no 
man  can  tell  at  long  range,  but  usually  up  to 
within  ten  days,  if  the  work  is  straight  going 
and  does  not  require  backing  up.  Never  make 
an  in-foal  mare  back  up  a  load.  The  most  in- 
fallible sign  of  approaching  parturition  is  the 
appearance  of  the  wax  on  the  end  of  the  teats. 
This  begins  to  show  generally  about  three  days 
before  the  foal  comes.  When  the  mare  is  let 
up,  say  about  the  326th  day,  give  her  a  roomy 
boxstall,  cutting  the  grain  ration  in  half,  but 
seeing  to  it  that  she  gets  plenty  of  exercise  at 
first.  Eeduce  the  proportion  of  grain  and  in^ 
creasing  the  proportion  of  bran,  but  what 
ever  food  she  is  getting,  make  no  sudden  change 
—merely  reduce  it  in  quantity.  See  that  the 
stall  is  freely  disinfected,  thoroughly  cleaned 
and  freshly  bedded — and  then  keep  it  scrupu- 
lously clean. 

After  the  wax  forms  on  the  dugs  see  closely 
to  the  mare,  but  do  not  bother  her.  Unseen 
watch  her  as  well  as  it  may  be  done,  but  by  no 
means  fuss  around  her,  for  there  is  no  mare  that 
will  bring  forth  her  young  in  the  presence  of 
man  if  it  is  to  be  avoided.  It  is  necessary  that 
the  caretaker  must  be  handy  by  at  night  to  ren- 
der assistance  if  it  is  needed,  but  the  mare  will 
be  harassed  hurtfully  if  she  is  aware  that  she 
is  being  watched.  I  have  known  a  mare  to  stand 
all  night  when  everything  indicated  imminent 
parturition,  and  then  when  I  went  to  get  a  hur- 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD    MARES.  83 

ried  bite  of  breakfast  in  the  morning,  drop  her 
foal  with  neatness  and  dispatch.  On  other  occa- 
sions I  have  known  mares,  which  knew  they  were 
being  watched,  stand  until  the  foals  came  from 
them  in  that  position.  The  wisest  way  is  to  fix 
some  sort  of  a  peep-hole  and,  making  no  noise, 
be  able  through  it  to  see  the  mare  but  be  unseen 
by  her.  Too  much  fussing  at  foaling  time  is 
worse  than  none  at  all. 

If  the  mare  shows  after  repeated  effort  that 
she  can  not  deliver  her  foal  'and  the  presenta- 
tion is  normal,  invoke  the  professional  aid  of 
the  veterinarian,  but  do  not  be  in  too  big  a  hurry 
about  it.  Give  her  plenty  of  chance  to  work  out 
her  own  salvation  and  never  go  to  pulling  and 
hauling  on  the  foal.  If  the  birth  is  easy  and 
normal  let  the  mare  and  foal  'alone.  If  trouble 
of  any  kind  is  observed  get  to  it  quickly.  Usual- 
ly after  foaling  the  mare  will  get  up  and  try  to 
see  to  her  foal.  After  she  is  on  her  feet  offer 
her  a  drink  of  gruel  made  by  putting  a  pound  of 
fine  oatmeal  in  half  a  bucket  of  water  from 
which  the  chill  has  been  taken.  Never  try  quick- 
ly to  hoist  the  foal  onto  his  fee>t  and  bun- 
dle him  around  to  the  dug  to  get  his  first  suck. 
Take  it  easy.  Any  hurrying  of  his  natural  in- 
clination is  bad  for  him. 

If  the  mare  shows  after  a  reasonable  time 
that  she  can  not  deliver  the  foal,  or  if  examina- 
tion discloses  that  there  is  an  abnormal  presen- 
tation, send  post  haste  for  the  veterinarian  and 


84  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

get  him  just  as  quickly  as  the  best  horse  in  the 
stable  can  travel.  The  foal  should  come,  nor- 
mally, first  the  forefeet,  then  the  nose,  and  if 
these  are  not  all  in  evidence,  get  the  practitioner 
at  once — on  the  dead  run.  It  is  amazing  how 
much  a  mare  can  stand  during  parturition  for  so 
highly  organized  a  form  of  life,  but  the  fewer 
chances  one  takes  the  better  it  is.  I  make  no 
attempt  to  detail  didactically  the  various  abnor- 
mal presentations,  though  they  are  compara- 
tively common,  for  the  reason  that  when  the 
average  man  goes  to  fussing  with  a  case  of  the 
kind  trouble  of  the  most  troublous  variety  is  on 
hand. 

During  the  closing  period  of  its  fetal  exist- 
ence there  collects  in  the  intestines  of  the  foal 
the  fecal  substance  known  as  meconium.  This 
must  be  got  rid  of  shortly  after  birth  and  usual- 
ly is,  the  milk  in  the  mare 's  udder  at  parturition, 
known  as  colostrum,  having  an  aperient  action. 
There  is  nothing  far  out  of  the  common  about 
this  colostrum.  Its  chief  peculiarity  physically 
is  that  its  fat  globules  are  very  large.  Its  ape- 
rient action  is  due,  probably,  to  its  long  reten- 
tion in  the  udder  and  to  the  mild  fermentive 
process  which  has  been  going  on  in  it  for  some 
little  time  prior  to  its  withdrawal.  The  milk 
which  is  secreted  within  an  hour  after  the  with- 
drawal of  the  colostrum  has  no  aperient  action 
to  speak  of,  and  hence  it  is  believed  that  the  ac- 
tion so  necessary  to  the  foal  is  derived  from 


MANAGEMENT   OF    BKOOD    MAKES.  85 

some  principle  evolved  during  the  retention  of 
the  colostrum  in  the  udder,  which  sets  up  a  mild 
form  of  indigestion  and  so  induces  the  peristal- 
tic action  of  the  bowels  which  removes  the  me- 
conium. 

If  the  foal  gets  his  first  hold  on  the  maternal 
dug  within  an  hour  from  birth,  that  will  be  all 
right.  Usually  the  meconium  will  pass  away 
easily  within  five  or  six  hours,  but  sometimes  it 
will  not.  If  it  does  not  come  within  twenty- 
four  hours  and  the  foal  presents  a  droopy,  list- 
less appearance,  eye  not  bright,  ears  lopped 
over,  then  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  give 
him  two  ounces  of  castor  oil.  In  five  hours  more 
relief  will  usually  have  been  gained  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  youngster  will  change  greatly 
for  the  better.  Peristaltic  action  will  be  caused 
and  the  fecal  matter  will  be  removed.  At  the 
time  of  administering  the  castor  oil  give  also  an 
injection  of  water  at  blood  heat  and  a  little 
glycerine — a  teaspoonful  of  glycerine  and 
enough  of  the  warm  water  to  make  two  ounces— 
not  more.  Inject  this  gently  into  the  rectum 
with  a  common  two-ounce  hard  rubber  syringe 
and  go  slow.  This  will  lubricate  the  passage 
and  induce  the  foal  to  endeavor  to  pass  the  fecal 
matter.  The  meconium  is  in  such  cases  a  yel- 
lowish, rather  hard,  waxy  substance.  If  given 
as  directed  the  injection  cannot  do  any  harm 
and  may  be  repeated  every  hour. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  digestive  action  in  the 


86  THE  HO  BSE  BOOK. 

new-born  foal.  The  entrance  of  something  into 
the  stomach  is  necessary  to  start  the  machinery 
into  motion.  If  this  is  not  affected  by  the  colos- 
trum, there  is  nothing  so  good  as  castor  oil  and 
the  injection  described.  Never  try  to  fill  the 
little  foal  up  with  copious  douches  of  soapsuds 
or  even  plain  warm  water.  Only  a  very  little 
is  needful.  To  discover  if  peristaltic  action— 
as  the  wormlike  motion  of  the  intestines  is 
named — is  going  on,  hold  the  ear  close  to  the 
left  flank  of  the  foal.  If  all  goes  well  the  noise 
heard  there  will  indicate  that  the  small  intes- 
tines are  in  working  order,  which  is  the  first  ob- 
ject sought.  The  noise  on  the  right  side  will 
indicate  what  is  doing  in  the  larger  intestines. 
If  the  meconium  is  not  passed  in  six  hours  after 
the  administration  of  the  castor  oil,  the  dose 
should  be  repeated. 

Joint-ill,  or  omphalo  phlebitis,  as  this  disease 
is  called  by  the  veterinarian,  is  something  of 
which  every  foal  has  to  run  the  gauntlet.  This 
disease  is  not  caused  by  a  specific  germ,  but  is 
the  result  of  mixed  infection  by  filth  germs. 
Aerobic  germs  are  those  which  flourish  in  light 
and  air ;  anaerobic  germs  those  which  thrive  in 
damp  places  shut  off  from  light  and  air.  The 
mixed  infection  which  causes  joint-ill  contains 
germs  of  both  sorts.  Stable  litter  is,  outside  of 
the  dirt  of  the  street,  the  most  fruitful  of  mi- 
crobe life  of  all  common  substances.  Great  care 
should  therefore  always  be  taken  to  have  the 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD    MARES.  87 

foal  come  on  a  clean  bed,  in  a  clean  place  thor- 
oughly disinfected  and  well  lighted.  Sunlight  is 
a  great  destroyer  of  filth  germs. 

Fortunately  the  micro-organisms  which  cause 
joint-ill  are  very  easily  destroyed.  They  may 
be  said  to  enter  the  circulation  of  the  foal  by  the 
large  vein  at  the  navel,  or  umbilical  vein,  and  to 
prevent  such  entrance  or  invasion  ligation  of  the 
navel  or  umbilical  cord  is  to  be  advised.  These 
same  germs  are  always  to  be  dreaded  when 
babies  are  born,  and  we  all  know  that  ligation 
of  the  cord  is  always  practiced  in  the  human 
family.  Being  easily  destroyed,  these  germs 
are  readily  combated  by  the  application  of  any 
good  antiseptic,  but  corrosive  sublimate  is  to  be 
preferred,  using  a  1-500  solution  to  swab  the 
small  portion  of  the  cord  left  pendant  from  the 
body  of  the  foal  immediately  after  ligation— 
which  means  tying  a  string  around  the  cord. 
Ligation  should  be  as  close  to  the  body  as  possi- 
ble, and  the  string  should  be  surgeon's  silk.  The 
corrosive  sublimate  solution  should  be  applied 
twice  daily  to  the  pendulous  portion  of  the  cord 
until  it  drops  off.  Eemember  these  germs  are 
everywhere.  They  are  merely  filth  germs.  The 
cleaner  and  lighter  the  place  in  which  the  mare 
foals  the  less  will  be  the  risk  the  foal  will  run  of 
infection.  Always  clean  out  the  stall  after  the 
mare  has  foaled  and  burn  the  litter.  The  fluids 
incident  to  foaling  seem  to  promote  germ  pro- 
duction in  an  amazing  degree. 


88  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

After  foaling  the  mare  may  have  her  ration 
gradually  increased  to  its  usual  size.  As  a  rule 
when  a  mare  has  been  worked  regularly  almost 
up  to  her  parturition  a  holiday  of  two  weeks 
after  it  should  see  her  in  shape  to  go  back  to 
light  work.  About  the  third  day,  or  even  on  the 
second,  if  the  weather  is  fine,  give  her  a  chance 
to  get  out  into  some  dry  lot  for  exercise.  At 
the  end  of  two  weeks  she  should  have  been  grad- 
ually gotten  back  onto  her  usual  feed  and  of 
course  she  should  run  out  in  the  lot  whenever 
she  wants  to.  When  it  comes  time  to  put  her 
back  in  the  harness  leave  the  foal  in  the  boxstall 
when  she  is  taken  out  to  work.  He  will  fret  at 
first,  but  he  will  soon  get  accustomed  to  doing 
without  his  mammy.  At  first  work  the  mare  but 
half  a  day.  She  will  be  soft  and  worry  greatly, 
probably  heating  herself  up  quite  badly.  A 
good  plan  in  such  cases  is,  on  coming  in  at  noon, 
to  milk  the  mare  almost  dry  and  then  put  her  in 
a  stall  in  the  work  stable  to  eat  a  little  hay  and 
cool  off.  After  she  has  cooled  off  so  she  may 
be  watered  she  may  be  taken  to  the  boxstall, 
turned  in  with  the  foal  and  fed  her  grain.  Be- 
ginning with  half  a  day  in  this  fashion,  she  may 
be  gradually  toughened  back  into  doing  her  full 
share  of  the  regular  team  work.  Never  let  a 
foal  suck  milk  from  a  warm  mare.  It  sets  up 
indigestion  and  starts  scours.  Keep  a  bucket  of 
water  in  the  boxstall  so  the  foal  may  take  a 
drink  whenever  he  wants  it. 


MANAGEMENT   OF    BROOD    MAEES.  89 

Quite  often  it  happens  that  a  motherless  foal 
has  to  be  raised  by  hand.  This  is  an  easy  enough 
job,  but  it  is  one  requiring  an  infinity  of  care 
and  patience.  It  may  be  set  down  as  a  fact 
which  there  is  no  disputing  that  a  newly  born 
animal  never  needs  much  food.  I  have  twice 
reared  foals  which  never  sucked  their  mothers. 
The  milk  of  a  mare  has  more  sugar  and  less  fat 
in  it  than  the  milk  of  a  cow,  but  the  difference 
is  not  so  great  that  there  is  any  danger  of  killing 
the  foal  by  feeding  it  cow's  milk  intelligently. 
Most  mares'  milk  will  show  not  quite  3  per  cent 
of  fat,  most  cows'  not  quite  4,  so  that  the  dif- 
ference is  not  so  very  decided  after  all.  In  rear- 
ing a  very  young  orphan  foal  get  the  milk  of  as 
fresh  a  cow  as  possible  and  the  poorer  in  butter 
fat  the  better.  Do  not  use  Jersey  milk  for  this 
purpose.  Take  a  dessert-spoonful  of  the  best 
white  granulated  sugar  and  add  enough  warm 
water  to  dissolve  it.  Then  add  three  table- 
spoonsful  of  limewater  and  enough  new  milk  to 
make  a  pint.  A  costless  apparatus  for  feeding 
the  foal  is  thus  contrived:  Get  an  old  teapot 
and  scald  it  thoroughly.  Over  the  spout  tie  se- 
curely the  thumb  of  an  old  kid  glove,  and  with 
a  darning  needle  pierce  holes  in  the  kid.  Warm 
the  milk  to  blood  heat,  pour  a  part  of  it  into  the 
teapot,  and  when  it  flows  through  the  spout  into 
the  glove  thumb,  an  excellent  imitation  of  the 
maternal  teat  will  be  formed,  which  the  foal 
will  suck  promptly.  Let  him  have  half  a  teacup- 


90  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

ful  every  hour  at  first.  It  is  a  bothersome  chore, 
but  it  must  be  done.  If  scours  supervene,  give  a 
dose  of  two  ounces  of  castor  oil  and  discontinue 
the  milk  for  a  couple  of  feeds,  giving  the  sugar 
and  limewater  as  before,  but  substituting  plain 
water  for  the  milk,  or  feed  nothing  at  all.  Foals 
reared  by  hand  will  scour  more  or  less,  but  the 
castor  oil  will  generally  fix  them  up  all  right. 

As  the  foal  grows  older  day  by  day  the  quan- 
tity of  milk  fed  may  be  increased  and  the  num- 
ber of  feeds  decreased  until  according  to  his 
thrift  he  may  be  fed  first  six  times  a  day  and 
then  four  times.  If  he  is  carried  along  nicely  he 
may  at  the  end  of  three  weeks  be  fed  the  milk 
and  limewater  or  milk  alone  from  a  bucket, 
eliminating  the  sugar,  but  he  should  never  be 
given  all  the  milk  he  will  drink  at  that  age. 
Watch  closely  for  signs  of  scouring,  which  are 
a  sure  sign  of  indigestion,  and  cut  down  on  the 
quantity  of  milk  fed  for  a  day.  Give  castor  oil 
as  before  only  in  three  or  four-ounce  doses. 
Always  have  fresh  water  so  the  foal  may  drink 
if  he  is  thirsty. 

A  foal  should  begin  to  nibble  at  grain  when  he 
is  around  a  month  old,  sometimes  earlier.  His 
first  food  should  be  oatmeal.  He  should  be  al- 
lowed such  trifling  quantity  of  this  as  he  will 
eat.  It  will  only  be  a  very  little  at  first.  When 
he  is  six  weeks  old  a  little  bran  may  be  added. 
At  two  months  old  some  sweet  skimmilk  may  be 
substituted  for  part  of  the  new  milk  and  so  on 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BKOOD    MAKES.  91 

until  when  he  is  three  months  old  the  orphan  foal 
may  have  about  all  the  sweet  skimmilk  he  wants 
three  times  a  day.  He  will  then  be  eating  plenty 
of  grain  and  grass  and  he  should  have  hay  if  he 
wants  it.  Let  him  have  grass  as  soon  as  he  will 
eat  it.  Never  feed  sour  milk  or  sweet  milk  from 
unclean  vessels.  Keep  him  in  a  lot  near  the 
house  and  give  him  company  if  it  is  only  a  runty 
calf.  Pet  him  and  coddle  him  all  of  the  time 
that  can  be  spared  and  in  general  Ireat  him  as 
every  orphan  should  be  treated — with  loving 
kindness  and  care.  Never  confine  him  closely  in 
a  stall.  Let  him  run.  The  rearing  of  a^mother- 
less  foal  is  mostly  in  the  man  or  woman  who 
essays  the  job. 

Foals  to  develop  to  their  best  should  have 
about  all  the  grain  they  will  eat,  and  their  dams 
should  be  well  fed  also.  If  the  mares  are 
worked  their  feeding  need  not  bother  any  one. 
Their  foals  should  have  oatmeal  and  bran  as 
already  described  to  eat  at  will,  only  a  little  at 
a  time,  and  the  supply  renewed  often  so  as  to 
keep  it  always  fresh  and  sweet.  As  a  general 
proposition  I  do  not  favor  turning  out  on  grass 
at  night  any  horse  that  is  working  regularly, 
whether  it  is  a  nursing  mare  or  any  other  work 
horse.  It  should  be  either  one  thing  or  the 
other — work  and  dry  rations  only,  or  grass  and 
idleness;  the  two  will  not  mix  to  advantage. 
The  fill  of  green  grass  which  work  horses  get  at 
night  in  pasture  does  them  no  good  and  it  saves 


92  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

nothing.  If  horses  are  to  do  a  proper  amount 
of  work  they  must  have  about  so  much  grain 
and  hay  anyway,  and  the  fill  of  grass  they  get 
in  pasture  between  dark  and  sunrise  serves 
merely  to  overload  their  digestive  apparatus. 
It  is  better  to  keep  them  in  the  stable  and  let 
them  rest  in  peace.  It  is  a  mistake  even  to  turn 
them  out  on  Sundays  or  on  odd  days  when  they 
are  not  working.  If  they  must  be  idle,  reduce 
their  grain  rations  and  let  them  stay  in  the  sta- 
ble and  rest.  When  the  foal  gets  old  enough  he 
may  eat  grass  if  he  wants  it  and  his  grain  as 
well,  but  the  milk  he  sucks  should  always  be  the 
same.  Hence  let  the  feeding  of  the  mare  be  uni- 
form. 

Mares  that  are  kept  in  idleness  must  be 
turned  to  pasture  for  economy's  sake,  but  they 
must  also  have  grain  and  some  hay,  in  varying 
proportion  according  to  the  growth  of  the  grass, 
but  always  some.  Shelter,  too,  is  essential,  not 
merely  woods  or  a  hedge,  but  a  shed  that  is  airy 
and  dark  into  which  they  may  run  in  the  heat 
of  the  day  to  escape  from  the  persecution  of 
the  flies  and  during  hard  storms.  Somewhere 
close  to  the  shed  rig  up  a  trough  from  which  the 
foals  may  eat  grain  and  around  it  construct  a 
creep  through  which  the  foals  may  enter,  but 
which  will  turn  back  the  mares.  This  may  be 
built  satisfactorily  by  sinking  posts  in,  the 
ground  around  the  trough  at  a  distance  of  ten 
or  twelve  feet  from  it,  and  spiking  round  poles 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BKOOD   MARES.  93 

to  them  high  enough  so  the  foals  may  go  under 
them,  but  too  low  for  the  mares  to  crawl  beneath 
them.  The  foals  will  soon  learn  the  trick.  The 
mares  should  be  fed  elsewhere. 

If  the  mares  are  not  provided  with  a  shed  as 
described  they  should  be  taken  up  and  housed 
during  the  hot  days  of  flytime  and  turned  afield 
again  at  night.  They  should  have  bright  hay  to 
eat  in  addition  to  their  grain  during  the  day 
time  and  as  the  pasture  grows  more  scanty  in 
the  fall  their  rations  should  be  increased.  Pas- 
turage may  be  supplemented  by  green  corn- 
stalks, if  only  the  latter  are  introduced  into  the 
diet  gradually  and  the  young  ears  may  go  with 
the  stalks  for  a  time.  Then  tear  the  ears  off 
the  most  of  the  stalks.  Let  the  foals  have  all 
the  grain  they  want  all  the  time.  This  with  shel- 
ter in  which  to  gain  surcease  from  the  troubling 
of  the  flies  will  keep  them  growing  as  they 
should.  I  do  not  know  of  anything  that  looks 
more  like  willful  inhumanity  of  the  most  atro- 
cious character  than  a  bunch  of  mares  and  colts 
standing  in  the  fence  corner  of  some  bare,  brown 
field  in  the  broiling  sun  without  anything  to  eat, 
tortured  by  the  pestilential  flies  and  stamping 
their  feet  to  pieces  in  their  efforts  to  rid  them- 
'selves  of  their  pestiferous  winged  enemies.  One 
of  the  most  inhuman  torture  schemes  of  the 
most  degraded  of  the  human  race  is  to  tie  a 
captive  enemy  to  a  stake  in  the  sun  and  let  the 
flies  have  full  swing  at  him.  Headhunting  is  a 


94  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

humane  sport  compared  to  this.  The  effect  of 
fly-fighting  in  scanty  pasture  is  always  distin- 
guishable in  the  lean,  stunted  appearance  of  the 
poor  animals  so  abused.  It  does  not  make  much 
difference  what  mares  are  fed  on  grass  so  long 
as  their  feed  is  not  suddenly  changed. 

If  foals  are  thus  cared  for  during  the  summer 
the  weaning  process  is  an  easy  one.  When  a 
foal  is  five  months  old  he  should  be  weaned.  It 
is  best  to  take  him  away  from  his  dam  for  good 
and  all  when  the  break  is  made,  cut  down  her 
grain  ration  and  milk  some  of  the  milk  from  her 
udder  three  or  four  times  the  first  day  and  so 
on  gradually  decreasing  until  the  flow  ceases  en- 
tirely. Work  the  mare  right  along.  If  she  is 
not  worked,  cut  out  the  grain  ration  altogether 
and  feed  hay  only.  Then  when  the  mare  is  dry 
begin  the  grain  feeding  lightly  once  more. 

Finishing  up  the  foal  business  there  is  no  rea- 
son why  mares  should  not  produce  fall  colts  if 
they  happen  to  miss  in  the  spring.  If  a  mare  is 
to  be  bred  in  the  fall  let  it  be  not  earlier  than 
November,  so  that  the  foal  may  come  in  Octo- 
ber after  the  frosts  have  put  the  flies  out  of  com- 
mission. A  fall  colt  must  be  permitted  to  exer- 
cise. He  may  be  allowed  to  potter  about  the 
farm  buildings  in  a  sort  of  go-as-you-please 
manner,  picking  his  grain  where  he  finds  it,  and 
he  will,  if  he  gets  enough  of  it,  grow  finely.  If 
he  is  shut  up  in  a  close  stall  he  will  surely  go 
wrong.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  much  bet- 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BKOOD   MAKES.  95 


ter  to  have  the  foals  come  in  the  spring.  The 
chief  advantage  in  having  a  mare  bred  in  the 
fall  is  that  it  saves  keeping  her  unproductive 
for  a  period  of  six  months. 

Weanlings  should  have  snug  quarters  during 
their  first  winter.  Put  them  preferably  two  in 
a  boxstall  and  feed  them  good  oats  and  bran— 
one-fifth  bran  by  weight — all  they  will  clean  up 
nicely  and  come  hungry  to  their  next  meal.  Feed 
them  the  choicest  hay  on  the  place,  always  free 
from  dust  and  mold,  and  feed  them  often — a 
little  at  a  time.  No  one  can  rear  .young  horses 
properly  without  grain.  Mark  that  well.  Win- 
ter and  summer  they  should  have  good  grain 
feeding.  Few,  however,  will  give  it  to  them.  I 
have  never  yet  been  able  to  discover  why  many 
a  farmer  will  feed  75  bushels  of  corn  at  40  or  50 
cents  a  bushel  to  a  steer  to  make  him  weigh  say 
1,500  Ib.  and  then  sell  him  for  6  cents  a  pound, 
or  $90  in  all,  and  yet  begrudge  a  single  ear  to  a 
colt  that  at  the  same  age  on  the  same  amount  of 
grain  might  have  been  sold  for  $150  or  more. 
Eight  now  the  same  quantity  of  grain  that  will 
put  a  $90  steer  on  the  market  fat  will  put  a 
three-year-old  colt  in  shape  to  sell  for  twice  the 
money — and  yet  few  men  grain  their  colts. 
Keep  their  feet  level  and  their  toes  short. 

In  pasture  yearlings  and  two-year-olds  should 
have  grain  according  to  the  growth  of  the  grass 
and  the  season.  Keep  them  growing  and  fat, 
and  always  see  well  to  their  feet.  Give  them 


96  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

shelter  into  which  they  may  escape  from  the  at- 
tacks of  the  awful  flies.  These  flies  cost  the 
farmers  of  the  United  States  millions  of  dollars 
annually  in  lost  horseflesh;  any  man  is  los- 
ing money  when  his  horses  are  losing  flesh.  Do 
not  close  young  horses  in  a  field  with  cattle, 
sheep  and  swine,  if  it  can  be  avoided.  They  do 
best  by  themselves  or  with  cattle— always  poor- 
ly with  sheep  and  pigs.  House  them  warmly  in 
winter  and  always  keep  them  growing  and  fat. 
This  theory  that  forcing  a  colt  to  root  up  his 
living  at  some  old  straw  stack  on  the  lee  side  of 
a  barb-wire  fence  makes  him  tough  is  all  tom- 
myrot.  Such  practice  merely  prevents  the  colt 
from  making  such  growth  as  he  should  make, 
and  what  is  more,  it  is  inhuman,  and  the  man 
who  is  guilty  of  it  is  deserving  of  the  attention 
of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Animals.  If  he  can  not  see  that  he  is  depleting 
his  pocketbook  he  should  at  least  be  estopped 
from  cruelly  mistreating  his  dumb  animals. 

Stallions  will,  of  course,  have  to  be  taken  up 
and  kept  by  themselves  the  summer  after  they 
are  a  year  old.  Many  a  foal  has  been  got  by  a 
yearling.  Regarding  the  best  time  to  castrate 
colts  men  always  have  differed  and  always  will. 
As  a  rule  it  is  best  to  order  their  castration 
when  they  are  about  a  year  old.  If  one  is  unde- 
veloped about  the  head  and  neck  he  may  be  al- 
lowed to  run  entire  for  six  months  or  a  year 
longer.  The  castration  of  horses  at  any  age  is  a 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BKOOD   MARES.  97 

simple  operation  and  when  performed  by  a  qual- 
ified practitioner  adverse  results  are  not  to  be 
expected.  There  is  very  little  risk  in  castrating 
even  old  stallions.  I  have  seen  them  altered  at 
all  ages  from  two  months  to  seventeen  years.  I 
never  knew  one  castrated  at  a  very  early  age 
which  developed  an  attractive  neck  and  head. 
The  longer  a  stallion  remains  entire  the  heavier 
and  coarser  his  head,  neck  and  shoulders  will 
become.  A  stag — as  a  stallion  castrated  after 
maturity  is  called — is  seldom  of  much  account 
in  the  harness.  His  great  heavy  forehand  is  too 
much  for  him  to  navigate  with  after  ie  is  de- 
prived of  his  masculinity.  Many  of  the  stallions 
which  in  their  middle  age  have  been  converted 
into  alleged  heavy  harness  horses  have  been  a 
byword  and  a  derision  for  the  reason  that  they 
tired  so  easily  and  mostly  on  account  of  their  too 
heavy  heads  and  necks.  Methods  of  rearing 
young  stallions  from  two  years  old  have  already 
been  discussed. 

Another  point  on  which  there  always  has  been 
and  always  will  be  a  difference  of  opinion  is  as 
to  breeding  two-year-old  fillies.  In  my  opinion 
there  is  no  reason  why  fillies  of  this  age  should 
not  be  bred,  provided  that  they  are  well  grown 
and  their  owner  is  willing  to  feed  and  care  for 
them  properly  during  their  pregnancy.  Nor  do 
I  believe  that  there  is  any  reason  why  a  mare 
which  has  a  foal  when  she  is  three  should  not 
be  bred  regularly  year  after  year — when  she  is 


98  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

three  and  four,  and  so  on — though  it  is  a  quite 
general  custom  in  Britain  to  breed  mares  when 
they  are  two,  let  them  go  over  at  three  and  breed 
them  again  at  four  to  foal  when  five  years  old. 
A  poorly  nourished,  anemic,  stunted  two-year- 
old  filly  should  not  be  bred.  This  applies  to  all 
sorts  of  horses  and  ponies.  The  breeder  who 
does  not  develop  his  fillies  properly  on  judicious 
and  plentiful  feeding  should  not  essay  to  breed 
them  as  two-year-olds. 

Eegarding  the  growth  of  horses,  it  may  be 
said  that  roughly  speaking  a  colt  which  is  prop- 
erly reared  will  make  rather  more  than  half  his 
growth  in  his  first  year.  This  rule  will  of 
course  be  more  or  less  upset  in  abnormal  cases, 
such  as  when  a  colt  is  badly  treated  during  his 
first  year  and  then  given  good  care  during  the 
next  three,  but  in  such  a  case  he  will  never  come 
to  be  what  he  would  have  been  had  he  been  han- 
dled aright  and  kept  growing  from  birth  on- 
ward. The  larger  the  ultimate  size  is  to  be  the 
greater  the  proportion  of  it  will  be  made  the 
first  year.  The  draft-bred  foal  that  does  not 
weigh  1,200  Ib.  or  over  the  day  he  is  twelve 
months  old  will  have  a  slim  chance  to  fill  a  draft- 
er 's  bill.  The  best  plan  is  to  give  them  always 
what  grain  they  will  clean  up  nicely  and  let  it 
go  at  that.  It  is  bad  at  any  time  to  let  colts  get 
thin.  It  is  worst  of  all  to  let  them  lose  the  flesh 
that  was  born  on  them.  It  is  very  nearly  as  bad 
to  let  them  get  thin  after  weaning.  Loss  sus- 
tained at  such  times  will  never  be  regained. 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD   MAKES.  99 

Breaking  a  colt  should  begin  when  the  young- 
ster is  a  few  days  old.  Fit  a  little  headstall  to 
its  head  and  leave  a  strap  6  or  8  inches  long 
hanging  from  it.  Catch  the  foal  by  this  strap 
often  and  get  him  thoroughly  accustomed  to  be- 
ing handled,  to  close  association  with  mankind, 
to  have  his  legs  rubbed  and  his  feet  picked  up. 
A  foal  is  a  friendly  little  fellow  as  a  rule  and 
likes  to  play  and  be  petted.  I  have  had  three  or 
four  of  them  at  a  time  that  I  would  wrestle  with, 
putting  their  forefeet  on  my  shoulders.  It  is 
always  bad  to  "baby"  a  horse,  but  with  a  foal 
it  is  different.  Familiarity  with  mankind  and 
the  consequent  fearlessness  accruing  are  safe  in- 
surance against  trouble  when  it  comes  to  break- 
ing to  harness.  Early  teach  the  foal  to  lead. 
Have  a  fairly  long  lead-strap,  get  behind  him 
and  make  him  go  ahead.  That  is  the  right  way. 
The  wrong  way  is  to  get  in  front  of  him  and  try 
to  drag  him  along.  Gentle  persuasion  with  the 
whip  may  be  necessary,  but  if  the  foal  has  been 
gently  handled  he  will  not  be  afraid  and  will 
quickly  learn  to  go  on  about  his  business.  Make 
him  do  whatever  you  set  out  to  teach  him  to  do. 
Breaking  colts  or  horses  is  much  like  raising  or- 
phan colts— it  is  largely  in  the  man.  A  horse, 
young  or  old,  is  a  stupid  sort  of  a  beast  at  the 
best  and  unless  he  is  intelligently  raised  is  pos- 
sessed by  fear.  Then  under  strange  circum- 
stances he  will  do  anything  and  everything 
which  he  ought  not  to  do;  he  gets  rattled  and 


100  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

then  lie  does  not  know  what  he  is  doing.  On  the 
other  hand  if  he  has  confidence  in  the  man  who 
has  hold  of  him,  his  master's  voice  will  reas- 
sure him. 

There  is  a  whole  lot  too  much  fuss,  as  a  rule, 
made  about  breaking  young  horses.  If  the 
breaking  is  made  a  gradual  process  it  will  come 
to  a  head  much  as  a  matter  of  course.  If  they 
are  allowed  to  run  practically  wild  until  three  or 
four  years  old  and  then  suddenly  caught  up  and 
the  effort  made  to  force  them  to  do  something 
they  know  nothing  about  there  will  be  trouble 
and  there  always  is.  It  may  be  advanced  that 
farmers  have  not  time  to  fuss  with  coM;s  as  ad- 
vocated. That  is  a  poor  excuse.  The  farmer 
who  has  not  time  to  fuss  with  that  which  puts 
dollars  in  his  pockets  would  better  be  in  other 
business. 

I  figure  that  it  is  best  to  break  colts  and  ac- 
custom them  to  the  harness  at  two  years  of  age. 
First  of  all,  on  the  farm,  take  a  thick  straight 
bit  and  buckle  it  in  the  mouth  with  two  short 
straps  to  the  square  irons  in  the  ends  of  the 
cheek  pieces  of  the  halter.  Let  them  stand  tied 
in  the  stall  and  they  will  mouth  and  champ  on 
the  bit  and  so  toughen  the  cheeks,  or  parts  of 
the  lips  which  the  bit  contacts,  in  that  process. 

Now  get  ready  a  leather  surcingle  with  a  loop 
strap  on  top  and  buckles  stitched  half-way  down 
each  side.  Buckle  the  surcingle  around  the  colt's 
body  and  adjust  a  check  rein  moderately  tight. 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD   MAEES.  101 

Or  if  desired  a  regular  bitting  harness  may  be 
used.  This  consists  of  a  bridle  and  check-rein, 
a  surcingle  and  crupper  and  two  side  lines,  run- 
ning from  the  bit  to  buckles  on  each  side  of  the 
circingle.  The  bit  in  a  bitting  harness  usually 
is  a  thick  snaffle  with  a  line  of  little  metal  pen- 
dants called  " keys'7  h'anging  to  the  joint  in  the 
middle  of  it.  The  object  of  these  keys  is  by 
annoying  the  tongue  to  make  the  colt  champ  the 
bit  and  so  toughen  his  cheeks.  After  the  colt 
has  been  allowed  to  go  awhile  with  his  head 
checked  up,  attach  the  side  lines  and  buckle  them 
moderately  tight.  Turn  him  out  thus  rigged  in- 
to the  yard  and  let  him  go  a  few  hours  a  day  for 
a  week.  Then  substitute  real  reins  for  the  side- 
lines and  drive  him  around  until  he  knows  how 
to  guide  this  way  and  that,  to  stop  at  the  word 
"whoa"  and  to  step  up  when  directed.  Break 
the  colt  to  stand  absolutely  still  when  being  har- 
nessed. That  is  a  first  essential.  A  horse  that 
is  perpetually  stepping  around  while  being  har- 
nessed is  but  half  broken  at  best.  Also,  when 
the  time  comes  make  him  understand  that  he 
must  stand  stock  still  while  being  hooked  up  to 
any  kind  of  a  rig  and  stand  there  until  he  gets 
the  word  to  move  on.  Do  not  forget  this.  It 
means  money.  Horses  of  the  roadster  stamp,  or 
any  other  stamp  for  that  matter,  are  often  in- 
dulged in  lunging  forward  the  moment  they  are 
checked  up.  This  is  all  wrong.  A  gentleman's 
horse  is  broken  so  that  he  stands  until  his  owner 


102  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

adjusts  his  apron  or  robe,  takes  up  his  reins  and 
gives  the  word  to  go  on.  The  time  to  teach  a 
horse  these  pleasant  ways  is  when  he  is  first 
broken.  Likewise  teach  him  to  back  pleasantly 
and  always  with  a  pull  of  the  reins.  Do  not  try 
to  teach  the  colt  too  much,  but  insist  that  he  stop 
as  instantly  as  possible  at  the  word  "whoa," 
back  when  told  to  do  so  and  the  pull  on  the  reins 
shows  what  is  wanted,  and  to  get  up  promptly 
when  the  word  is  given.  Heroic  measures  are 
sometimes  necessary,  but  as  a  rule  the  exercise 
of  gentleness  will  win  out  sooner.  A  horse  is  a 
stupid  beast  and  infinite  patience,  coupled  with 
determination,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  do 
much  with  him.  Some  men  think  that  they  are 
making  something  by  going  into  a  small  yard 
armed  with  a  whip  and  making  a  colt  do  stunts. 
I  have  never  been  able  to  see  where  they  gained 
anything,  for  the  market  for  circus  horses  is 
limited  and  a  colt  needs  only  to  be  broken  to 
harness  properly  to  make  him  worth  all  the 
money  he  will  ever  bring. 

After  the  colt  has  been  driven  around  by  the 
reins  and  has  learned  to  guide  to  the  right  and 
left,  to  turn  around,  "get  up"  and  "whoa," 
hitch  him  into  a  long-shafted  breaking  cart  sin- 
gle, or  double  with  some  steady-going  horse,  not 
necessarily  an  old  one,  but  always  reliable.  It  is 
a  mistake  to  hook  a  colt  up  the  first  time  with 
some  old  plug  that  can  not  get  out  of  his  own 
way.  He  will  never  step  fast  enough  for  the 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD    MAKES.  103 

young  one  and  the  latter  will  fret  and  worry. 
There  are  easier  and  shorter  ways  to  break 
horses  than  this,  but  it  pays  to  take  time  as  de- 
scribed for  the  reason  that  the  process  outlined 
if  followed  will  develop  a  mouth  not  too  hard 
and  not  too  soft,  and  that  is  worth  money  either 
to  sell  or  to  keep.  Kemember  that  a  horse  is  a 
creature  of  habit.  It  takes  repetition  to  drill 
things  into  his  brain.  His  instinct  is  admirable. 
He  will  bring  you  home  safely  the  darkest  and 
stormiest  night  that  ever  blew  and  the  next  day 
bolt  and  wreck  the  rig  because  he  chanced  to 
meet  a  black  pig  when  he  was  habituated  to 
meeting  white  pigs  in  that  particular  spot. 
When  he  is  young  his  brain  is  more  plastic  and 
sensitive  to  impression  than  when  he  grows 
older.  Habits  he  contracts  at  two  years  old 
will  be  retained  through  life. 

When  colts  have  been  well  broken  as  two- 
year-olds  they  may  be  turned  out  for  the  rest 
of  the  year.  They  will  never  forget  their  les- 
sons. There  is  no  sense  in  trying  to  lay  down 
set  rules;  these  very  general  directions  must 
serve.  The  man  who  breaks  colts  finds  some 
new  situation  to  deal  with  in  every  one  he  un- 
dertakes to  educate. 

In  all  cases  the  bitting  should  be  done  as  out- 
lined. See  to  it  that  the  bit  is  always  high 
enough  up  in  the  mouth.  Keep  it  just  so  that  it 
will  not  unduly  press  against  the  cheeks,  but  at 
the  same  time  not  so  low  that  the  horse  will  be 


104  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

everlastingly  hitching  at  it  with  his  tongue  try- 
ing to  keep  it  comfortable  in  his  mouth.  Go 
easy  with  them  all  at  first,  but  go  through  with 
everything  that  is  undertaken.  Never  under 
any  circumstances  try  to  make  colts  pull  out  of 
a  place  where  they  have  Leen  stuck.  One  of  the 
surest  ways  to  make  him  balky  is  to  get  a  €olt 
stuck  and  then  lick  him  because  he  has  not 
strength  to  pull  out  his  load.  More  than  once 
on  the  soft  prairie  soils  of  the  West  I  have  had 
the  wagon  wheels  cut  down  in  the  sod  in  spring- 
time and,  after  throwing  off  the  small  load  of 
hay  I  had  on  at  the  time,  started  up  the  team 
of  three-year-olds  I  was  driving  onto  dry 
ground,  and  then  carried  the  hay  forkful  by 
forkful  out  of  the  slough  and  loaded  it  onto  the 
wagon  again.  It  was  deplorably  hard  labor,  to 
be  sure,  but  it  paid. 

Earey  was  a  great  handler  of  horses  of  some 
sorts  and  his  tackle  was  a  great  invention.  This 
tackle  consists  of  two  short  straps  fitted  with 
D  rings,  a  surcingle  and  a  long  rope.  The  straps 
are  buckled  around  the  front  pasterns,  the  sur- 
cingle around  the  body.  One  end  of  the  rope  is 
spliced  into  the  ring  in  the  strap  that  goes 
around  the  pastern  of  the  near  fore  leg.  The 
free  end  of  the  rope  is  then  passed  through  a 
ring  on  the  underside  of  the  surcingle  and  then 
down  and  through  the  ring  in  the  strap  around 
the  pattern  of  the  off  fore  foot.  Then  the  rope 
end  is  brought  up  and  passed  through  a  ring 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BROOD   MARES.  105 

sewed  about  half  way  down  the  off  $ide  of  the 
surcingle.  The  horse  can  walk  all  right,  trot  and 
even  run  when  the  rope  is  slack,  but  a  steady 
pull  on  the  rope  will  jerk  his  fore  feet  up  against 
the  floor  of  his  chest  and  down  he  goes  on  his 
knees  and  nose.  A  rasping  hard  fall  takes  the 
tuck  out  of  most  horses,  two  or  three  will  usual- 
ly do  the  business  for  the  most  incorrigible,  but 
it  is  a  dangerous  game  to  play. 

I  have  mentioned  the  Earey  tackle  only  for 
the  reason  that  its  general  use  in  colt-breaking 
has  been  advocated  by  one  or  two  writers  in 
high  position,  whose  experience  with  it-  can  not 
have  been  extensive.  It  should  be  used  in  colt- 
breaking  only  as  a  last  resort.  Horse-breaking, 
to  be  sure,  is  no  job  for  a  nursery  governess, 
but  there  are  only  a  very  few  colts — probably 
not  one  in  5,000— that  ever  need  a  fall  in  the 
Earey  tackle. 

Once  upon  a  time  I  was  employed  by  an  im- 
porter of  coaching  stallions  and  one  of  his  chief 
talking  points  was  the  facility  with  which  the 
imported  stallions  of  full  age  could  be  broken  to 
harness.  When  some  customer  announced  that 
he  had  to  be  shown  the  foreman  and  I  took  oc- 
casion to  put  the  stallion  in  question  through  a 
course  of  sprouts  with  the  Earey  tackle  in  a 
long  shed  deeply  bedded  with  shavings,  and  then 
sallied  forth  with  him.  As  soon  as  the  horse 
felt  the  body  band  of  the  harness  tighten  around 
him  he  was  in  mortal  terror  of  being  thrown 


106  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

upon  Ms  head  again  and  usually  stepped  off  in 
the  long-shafted  cart  like  a  little  lamb.  Finally 
the  foreman  and  I  broke  the  neck  of  a  valuable 
horse  one  day  with  the  tackle  and  the  talking 
point  vanished  like  magic.  Incorrigibly  vicious 
horses  may  need  Bareyizing,  but  these  are  few 
and  far  between  and  no  farmer  need  ever  find 
use  for  the  tackle  if  he  knows  his  business  even 
in  an  elementary  way.  On  the  contrary  the 
Karey  tackle  is  a  tool  to  be  used  only  by  the 
thoroughly  experienced.  It  is  by  no  means  a 
necessary  farm  implement. 

Good  harness  is  one  of  the  best  advertise- 
ments a  farmer  or  breeder  can  have.  It  is  econ- 
omy to  buy  good  leather  and  then  keep  it  in 
good  condition.  There  is  a  bit  of  a  trick  in 
hitching  up  a  horse  just  right,  but  it  is  hard  to 
state  it  didactically.  In  general  the  harness 
from  the  bridle  to  the  crupper  should  fit 
"neither  too  free  nor  to  bind" — meaning 
neither  too  loose  nor  too  tight— but  how  can 
that  happy  medium  be  taught  through  the  me- 
dium of  cold  type  I  It  is  worth  dollars,  though, 
to  have  the  harness  fit  just  right.  The  horse 
will  work  more  contentedly  and  move  more  free- 
ly. The  main  thing  is  to  have  the  harness  good, 
have  it  fit  right  and  then  keep  the  life  in  the 
leather.  Harness  oils  and  dressings  are  cheap 
and  it  does  not  take  long  to  fix  up  a  double  set. 
Keep  the  metal  housings  bright  and  clean. 

A  farmer's  business  needs  advertising  just  as 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BKOOD    MAEES.  107 

much  as  the  merchant 's.  No  one  need  think  that 
the  packers  and  other  great  mercantile  houses 
go  to  tremendous  expense  for  fine  horses,  har- 
ness and  rigs  for  nothing.  The  financial  pros- 
perity of  any  firm  may  usually  be  gauged  by 
its  horses  and  wagons  as  turned  out  in  the 
street.  So  it  is  with  the  farmer.  Show  me  the 
farmer  Who  drives  to  town  a  finely  conditioned 
pair  of  horses,  geared  with  good  leather  and 
hooked  to  a  clean  well  cared  for  rig,  and  it  is 
the  one  best  bet  that  you  are  showing  me  a  man 
whose  credit  is  good  at  the  bank  and  store.  The 
banker,  mostly  a  shrewd  judge  of  men  and  man- 
ners, knows  that  the  same  qualities  in  human 
nature,  which  are  reflected  in  such  an  outfit, 
make  for  success  in  business.  On  the  other 
hand  tatterdemalion  harness  and  ramshackle, 
filthy  rigs  indicate  qualities  and  character  which 
bankers  do  not  cotton  to  when  it  comes  to  lend- 
ing money  over  their  counters. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

FITTING  FOE  SALE.— MARKET  CLASSES 
OF  HOESES.-TEADE  TEEMS. 

To  sell  to  the  best  advantage  horses  should 
be  fat  and  well  broken — the  fatter  and  better 
broken  they  are,  the  better  they  will  sell.  Hence 
it  pays  to  accustom  all  farm  horses  to  as  many 
of  the  terrifying  sights  and  sounds  of  city  life 
as  may  be  met  up  with  in  the  country — the  lo- 
comotive, the  trolley  car,  the  automobile,  thresh- 
ing machines,  motorcycles  and  the  like.  I  once 
knew  a  man  who  did  a  mighty  good  job  on  his 
young  horses  by  taking  them  often  to  a  spot  on 
the  road  over  which  the  railway  crossed  on  a 
high  bridge  and  fill.  It  so  happened  that  a  pas- 
senger express,  a  local  passenger  train  and  a 
through  freight  came  along  one  after  the  other 
about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  it  was 
rather  the  exception,  spring,  summer  and  fall, 
not  to  find  him  thereabouts  at  that  time.  His 
horses  learned  to  let  the  trains  go  by  above  them 
when  they  could  see  them  and  when  they  could 
not  see  them,  and  as  each  train  always  whistled 
just  as  it  passed  over  the  bridge,  the  education 
was  pretty  thorough.  This  man  was  continually 
showing  the  locomotive  and  the  trolley  to  his 
colts  under  divers  circumstances  and  he  enjoyed 
a  steady  demand  for  them  at  good  prices  even 
during  the  dull  times. 

108 


MAEKET  CLASSES  OF  HORSES.  109 

"Family  broken"  means  a  whole  lot  more 
now  than  it  did  a  decade  ago.  Then  a  horse 
which  would  pass  a  traction  engine  and  a  sepa- 
rator all  right  was  esteemed  safe.  Now  that 
automobiles  and  trolley  cars  dot  the  landscape 
and  the  motorcyclist  goes  whizzing  by,  it  is  alto- 
gether a  different  story.  A  horse  that  is  afraid 
of  automobiles  or  trolley  cars  or  locomotives  is 
not  worth  a  dollar  for  use  anywhere  near  a 
large  city  and  that  is  where  the  best  prices  are 
to  be  obtained.  It  is  best  to  begin  young  with 
them.  They  learn  more  easily  then.  There 
should  be  no  mistake  about  this,  no  onaudlin 
sentiment  about  the  wrongs  the  automaniacs  are 
inflicting  on  the  farmer.  The  auto  has  come  to 
stay.  It  is  an  accomplished  factor  of  modern 
civilization  like  the  locomotive  and  the  trolley 
car.  Just  laws  are  needed  to  curb  the  ambition 
of  the  madmen  who  career  along  the  country 
roads  too  fast,  but  the  automobile  must  be  reck- 
oned with  first,  last  and  all  the  time.  I  have 
driven  over  most  of  the  country  surrounding 
Chicago.  I  know  whereof  I  speak,  the  while 
sympathizing  deeply  with  the  inhabitants  of 
rural  districts  traversed  by  roads  which  invite 
the  crazy  autoist.  Nowadays  when  a  young 
horse  will  stand  fearlessly  with  a  locomotive  in 
front  of  him,  a  trolley  car  passing  behind  him 
and  an  automobile  stationary  but  panting  along- 
side of  him,  he  may  be  considered  very  fairly 


110  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

broken  for  a  country  horse,  but  lie  will  still  have 
much  to  learn. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  auto-on- 
the-rural-highway  question.  The  horse  must 
accommodate  himself  to  the  auto  with  its  blind- 
ing headlights,  the  trolley  car  and  the  locomo- 
tive or  go  out  of  business.  The  law  says  that 
the  auto  has  as  much  right  to  use  the  public  road 
as  the  pedestrian  or  the  horse,  and  no  more,  and 
the  owner  of  the  horse  might  just  as  well  make 
up  his  mind  to  that  fact  first  as  last.  It  is  no 
small  trick  to  break  horses  to  autos  and  trolley 
cars,  but  it  can  be  done  and  it  must  be  done  if 
the  farmer  is  to  get  all  that  is  coming  to  him 
for  his  time  and  investment,  not  to  speak  at  all 
of  his  personal  safety  and  that  of  his  wife  and 
bairns.  It  is  an  un-American  position  to  take 
that  because  autos  are  common  the  wife  and 
babies  can  no  longer  drive  on  the  public  road. 
That  sort  of  spirit  would  never  have  wrested 
from  Great  Britain  the  independence  of  which 
we  are  so  proud.  There  are  horses  now  and 
there  will  be  horses  after  we  are  all  dead.  Make 
them  safe  for  the  women  folks  to  drive.  It  has 
to  come. 

To  offer  a  thin  horse  for  sale  is  to  invite  for 
him  a  lower  price  than  he  should  bring.  The 
trade  demands  fat  horses.  The  farmer  can  more 
easily  afford  to  feed  his  grain  to  horses  than  to 
any  other  domestic  animal.  Some  one  has  to 
put  the  animals  in  condition  and  if  the  farmer 


MAEKET  CLASSES  OF  HOUSES.  Ill 

will  not  do  it,  the  feeder  must,  and  the  price  the 
farmer  receives  must  foe  lower  in  consequence. 
Many  a  time  I  have  seen  grain  pay  the  farmer 
a  dollar  or  more  a  bushel  when  used  in  fatten- 
ing horses.  The  experiments  made  along  this 
line  by  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  are  right 
in  point  here.  I  commend  the  bulletin  describ- 
ing them  to  all  farmers.  This  feeding  process 
is  an  easy  one.  Put  the  horses  in  stalls,  tied  by 
the  head.  Feed  them  all  the  grain  and  hay  they 
will  clean  up  and  give  them  all  the  pure  water 
they  will  drink.  They  must  be  brought  to  full 
feed  gradually  and  the  food  must  -not  be 
changed.  Exercise  is  not  necessary.  Big  draft- 
ers will  gain  as  much  as  five  or  six  or  even  seven 
pounds  a  day  on  all  the  corn  they  will  eat.  The 
feeders  who  make  a  business  of  fattening  draft- 
ers for  the  market  use  corn  mostly,  with  some- 
times a  little  bran,  and  they  never  change  the 
feed  from  the  time  they  start  the  horses  until 
they  land  them  in  the  market.  This  rule  of  no 
change  applies  absolutely. 

In  the  great  markets  horses  are  classed  oc- 
cording  to  their  "jab."  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  differentiate  sharply  between  the  va- 
rious classes,  but  I  shall  make  no  effort  to  draw 
any  strongly  marked  lines,  for  the  reason  that 
it  is  impossible  to  do  so.  One  cannot  mark 
didactically  lines  that  exist  only  in  the  most 
shadowy  form  at  best  and  are  constantly  chang- 
ing. Classes  go  by  certain  names  all  over  the 


112  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

country,  but  the  horse  that  is  referred  to  in 
one  part  of  the  country  by  one  name  may  be 
very  different  from  the  horse  which  is  referred 
to  by  identically  the  same  term  in  another.  If 
any  one  desires  to  post  himself  on  this  phase  of 
the  business  he  would  best  stand  by  the  loading 
chutes  in  any  of  the  great  wholesale  markets 
and  note  the  horses  that  are  shipped  out  to  the 
various  parts  of  the  country.  He  will  find,  for 
instance,  that  Boston  wagon  horses,  New  York 
wagon  horses  and  Pittsburg  wagon  horses  are 
three  entirely  different  sorts,  though  they  are 
all  wagon  horses.  How  then  is  any  one  to  ex- 
plain didactically  what  a  wagon  horse  is!  Fol- 
lowing, however,  is  a  sketch  in  outline  of  mar- 
ket requirements. 

Just  at  present  horses  of  draft  blood  are 
classed  as  drafters,  loggers,  feeders,  wagon 
horses,  chunks  and  farm  workers,  and  with  the 
exception  of  the  first  named  two  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  separate  them.  Expressers  form  a  class 
by  themselves.  Then  come  southern  chunks  and 
riff-raff.  Horses  without  any  draft  blood  in 
them  at  all — at  least  visibly  so — are  classed  as 
gentlemen 's  roadsters  or  light  harness  horses, 
heavy  harness  horses,  business  or  pleasure 
horses  variously  so-called,  livery  horses,  south- 
ern drivers  and  other  intermediate  sorts  of  no 
special  class  or  calibre,  such  as  hearse  horses, 
for  which  there  is  always  more  or  less  of  a  de- 
mand, and  a  few  other  kinds  for  which  a  spo- 


MAEKET  CLASSES  OF  HORSES.  113 

radic  inquiry  develops  periodically — spotted 
circus  horses,  for  instance.  Horses  for  the  fire, 
patrol  wagon  and  mounted  police  service  come 
from  the  ranks  of  the  expressers,  being  selected, 
the  first  two  on  account  of  strength  and  speed 
on  the  run,  the  latter  for  more  or  less  excellence 
of  saddle  conformation,  substance  to  carry 
weight  and  a  bit  of  good  looks  as  well.  Cavalry 
and  artillery  horses  are  taken  periodically  by 
our  own  government  and  by  foreign  powers. 
The  cavalry  horse  mostly  purchased  by  Uncle 
Sam  comes  from  the  ranks  of  the  business  or 
pleasure  horses  and  is  mostly  of  trotting  blood. 
No  uniformity  of  type  is  insisted  on.  They 
come  in  all  shapes,  these  troop  horses.  Officers' 
chargers  are  preferably  of  the  conformation  of 
the  Kentucky  saddle  horse.  Artillery  horses 
are  light  expressers,  weighing  around  1,250 
pounds,  and  like  the  fire  and  patrol  horses,  able 
to  run. 

Drafters  run  in  the  trade  from  1,600  pounds 
upwards.  The  larger  they  are,  the  fatter  and 
the  more  quality  they  possess,  the  better  they 
sell.  Loggers  are  inferior  but  big  drafters. 
Wagon  horses  are  a  numerous  delegation.  They 
come  in  all  sizes  from  1,250  pounds  to  1,450 
pounds,  and  in  all  shapes  from  the  classy  one 
almost  a  coacher  in  conformation  and  used  to 
draw  the  delivery  wagon  of  a  dry  goods  house, 
to  the  roughest  sort  of  a  team  fit  only  to  pull 
dirt  out  of  an  excavation.  The  Boston  wagon 


114  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

horse  weighs  around  1,400  pounds,  is  preferably 
rather  light  in  bone,  of  build  almost  typically 
Percheron  and  always  very  smooth.  The  east- 
ern wagon  horse,  taken  mostly  for  New  York 
trade,  is  coachlike  in  conformation  and  quality, 
smaller  than  the  Boston  article  and  handsome. 
The  Pittsburg  wagon  horse  is  a  ruggeder  propo- 
sition altogether  and  in  weight  around  1,450 
pounds.  This  shows  how  futile  it  would  be  to 
try  to  describe  wagon  horses  as  a  general  classi- 
fication. Chunks  are  short  and  thick  and  draf ty 
in  conformation,  range  in  weight  from  1,250  to 
1,550  pounds  and  are  variously  sorted  for  va- 
rious localities.  It  is  not  easy  to  divide  them  off 
from  the  wagon  horses.  Southern  chunks  are 
light,  weighing  around  1,100  pounds  or  there- 
abouts, with  less  draft  blood  and  more  warm 
blood  about  them  than  any  of  the  foregoing 
classes.  Farm  workers  are  anything  and  every- 
thing. If  a  horse  in  late  winter  and  early  spring 
will  not  class  anywhere  else,  he  goes  as  a  farm 
worker  or  farm  chunk.  Feeders  are  thin 
horses  of  the  drafter  class. 

Expressers  may  briefly  be  described  as  over- 
grown, low-quality  coachers.  They  must  have 
a  bit  of  draft  blood  about  them  to  give  them 
size,  but  it  must  not  show  in  preponderance. 
They  must  be  able  to  get  out  and  trot  quickly 
and  nervily  with  a  big  load  behind  them.  They 
range  in  weight  from  1,250  to  1,500  pounds— 
high-headed,  smoothly  turned,  good-acting 


MARKET  CLASSES  OF  HORSES.  115 

horses  with  considerable  style.  Formerly 
bussers  and  cabbers,  taken  chiefly  for  export  to 
England  and  France,  and  tram  horses  were  ac- 
counted distinct  classes  that  tailed  on  after  the 
expressers,  but  the  demand  for  them  has  disap- 
peared and  nowadays  one  rarely  hears  their 
names  mentioned  in  the  trade. 

Gentlemen's  roadsters  have  the  type  of  the 
trotter — breedy,  long-necked,  elegant  horses 
suiting  the  light  buggy  or  speed  wagon  and  able 
to  go  along  at  a  smart  rate  of  speed.  In  fact 
the  ranks  of  the  road  horse  are  properly  re- 
cruited from  among  the  harness  race  horses, 
both  trotters  and  pacers,  and  to  sell  well  a  road 
horse  nowadays  must  be  able  to  beat  2 :30,  prob- 
ably quite  a  good  bit.  Then  these  which  cannot 
trot  or  pace  fast  tail  on  down  in  all  grades  to  the 
cheapest  sorts  which  are  taken  for  the  livery 
and  southern  trade.  Of  late,  however,  the  South 
has  been  buying  a  better  grade  of  driver,  taking 
business  and  pleasure  horses  at  $160  to  $185, 
whereas  the  demand  from  south  of  Mason  & 
Dixon's  line  was  formerly  for  cheap  lots  at  $65 
to  $115. 

Heavy  harness  horses  are  divided  into  two 
sorts — the  park  horse  and  the  carriage  horse, 
the  runabout  horse  being  a  sort  of  hanger-on  to 
the  skirts  of  both.  The  park  horse  runs  in 
height  from  14.3  hands  to  15.2%  hands,  and  the 
carriage  horse  from  15.3  hands  upwards.  At 
least  that  is  the  distinction  drawn  for  these 


116  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

sorts  at  the  great  horse  shows.  The  park  horse 
and  the  carriage  horse  have  the  same  conforma- 
tion, but  the  park  horse  must  have  as  an  ab- 
solute essential  high,  snappy  action.  The  step  of 
the  carriage  horse  should  be  more  commanding, 
as  befits  his  greater  size  and  the  heavier  vehicle 
which  he  pulls.  Conformation  of  these  two 
sorts  is  of  the  round-built  order,  round  quar- 
ters, round  barrel,  fairly  short  legs,  neat,  long, 
well  arched  neck,  clean  cut  at  the  throttle,  neat 
head,  sloping  shoulders  and  clean  bone,  the 
more  the  better. 

Typically  the  correct  action  of  the  park  horse 
in  front  may  be  described  as  that  the  foot  should 
be  raised  and  lowered  as  though,  so  to  speak, 
following  the  rim  of  a  rolling  wheel,  being 
brought  forward  and  upward,  reaching  the 
ground  again  in  a  graceful  curve.  Many  horses 
can  jerk  their  knees  up  high  and  then  slam  their 
feet  down  again  on  the  ground  not  far  from 
the  spot  where  they  picked  up,  but  that  is  not 
good  action,  no  matter  how  high  the  knee  may 
be  hoisted.  Similarly  some  horses  can  get  their 
knees  away  up  when  going  at  a  three-minute 
clip  and  not  until  then.  That  will  not  do,  for 
the  street  traffic  regulations  do  not  permit  the 
exhibition  of  so  much  speed.  The  heavy  har- 
ness horse  must  go  high  when  going  slow.  The 
hocks  should  be  kept  well  together,  flexed 
sharply,  brought  well  upward  and  the  foot 
thrown  forward  well  under  the  body.  The  ac- 


MAKKET  CLASSES  OF  HOUSES.  117 

tion  of  the  larger  horse  dwells  somewhat,  per- 
missibly, and  is  therefore  more  deliberate,  but 
it  must  be  high  all  around. 

Eunabout  horses  are  used  singly.  A  runa- 
bout pair  is  very  much  of  a  farce.  This  is  a 
nondescript  article  in  horseflesh,  of  varying  size 
but  never  large,  ranging  perhaps  up  to  15.3 
hands  and  from  that  down  to  14.3,  with  a  bit  of 
speed,  a  bit  of  action,  more  or  less  of  the  confor- 
mation of  the  park  horse,  but  not  his  action. 
In  short,  the  runabout  horse  is  about  half  way 
between  the  roadster  and  the  heavy  harness 
horse  and  generally  he  is  docked,  though  not 
always. 

As  the  class  of  farm  workers  includes  every- 
thing that  is  not  of  sufficient  size  or  merit  to 
go  into  the  higher-priced  lots,  so  the  business 
and  pleasure  class  may  be  said  to  be  a  very 
elastic  one.  A  horse  may  be  mighty  useful  and 
yet  not  class  as  a  roadster,  park,  carriage  or 
runabout  horse.  The  more  inferior  lots  of  the 
trotter  type  fill  the  livery  stables  and  the  more 
chubby  ones  go  into  buggy  work  in  the  cities, 
the  South  taking  many  of  each  kind.  A  hearse 
horse  is  a  light  expresser  which  happens  to  be 
black  in  color  and  may  weigh  as  much  as  1,300 
pounds.  I  want  to  say  again  that  it  is  useless 
to  attempt  to  explain  by  rule  of  thumb  the  divid- 
ing lines  between  the  various  market  classes, 
more  especially  nowadays  when  the  demand  for 
horses  exceeds  the  supply  and  buyers  are  will- 


118  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

ing  to  put  up  with  makeshifts  if  they  can  not 
find  just  what  they  want. 

Cobs  properly  speaking  do  not  stand  over  14.2 
or  14.3  hands  at  most,  though  horses  standing 
15.1  hands — sometimes  even  more — are  often 
miscalled  cobs  in  the  trade.  Cobs  are  the  con- 
necting link  between  the  ponies  and  the  horses. 
They  are  large-bodied,  pudgy,  chunky  beasts, 
not  horse,  not  pony,  but  half  way  between,  short 
of  leg  and  properly  with  high  action.  Ponies 
run  in  all  sizes  from  14.2  hands  down,  the  va- 
rious common  sorts  being  described  in  the  sub- 
sequent chapter  devoted  to  them. 

Saddle  horses  include,  as  the  market  classifies 
them,  the  five-gaited  or  Kentucky  horse,  the 
three-gaited  or  walk-trot-and-canter  horse  and 
the  hunter.  Special  reference  to  them  will  be 
found  further  along. 

By  continuous  effort  the  Stock  Yards  Com- 
pany has  made  Chicago  the  greatest  point  of 
concentration  and  distribution  of  horses  in  the 
West.  Therefore  Chicago  substantially  domi- 
nates values  of  horses  for  most  of  the  country. 
Its  market  gets  the  best  horses  in  the  region 
tributary  to  it  and  all  the  largest  and  best  buy- 
ers in  the  eastern  and  southern  cities  are  contin- 
ually represented  at  the  ringside  in  the  "Dexter 
Park  Pavilion,  commonly  known  as  the  "bull- 
pen. ' '  A  sharp  man  is  he  who  can  hold  his  own 
in  any  horse  market  and  to  get  to  understand  all 
of  the  trade  terms  is  no  mean  trick  of  itself. 


MARKET  CLASSES  OF  HOESES. 


119 


Here  some  of  the  Chicago  trade  terms  are  ex- 
plained. The  shibboleth  of  the  professional 
hoirse  dealer,  however,  varies. 

Horses  are  mostly  sold  at  auction  in  the  great 
markets  of  the  West.  In  Chicago  and  generally 
elsewhere  they  are  sold  under  certain  stated 
conditions,  which  are  well  understood.  If  a 
horse  is  sold  "to  be  serviceably  sound "  he  must 
have  nothing  wrong  about  him  that  will  mate- 
rially impair  his  value  as  a  worker  at  his  busi- 
ness. In  other  words,  he  must  be  practically 
sound  in  wind,  limb  and  eye  and  body,  have  no 
bad  habits,  must  pull  true  and  be  well  broken. 
A  horse  that  does  not  fill  this  bill  or  any  other 
form  X)f  guarantee  may  be  rejected  and  thrown 
back  on  the  hands  of  the  seller  at  any  time  be- 
fore noon  of  the  day  following  that  on  which 
the  purchase  was  made.  A  horse  may  also  be 
sold  "  to  be  serviceably  sound  "  with  some  defect 
pointed  out,  which  goes  with  him.  It  is  only 
once  in  a  whole  that  horses  are  sold  as  ' '  sound, ' ' 
and  then  only  to  "start  something. "  "Legs 
go"  means  that  whatever  is  on  his  legs  goes 
with  the  horse,  but  he  must  be  right  in  his  wind, 
pull  true  and  he  must  not  be  lame.  "To  wind 
and  work"  predicates  that  the  horse  is  sound 
in  his  wind  and  will  work  all  right.  "Worker 
only"  means  that  the  horse  will  pull  true  and 
nothing  more.  "At  the  end  of  the  halter"  indi- 
cates that  the  purchaser  has  bought  a  horse, 
when  his  bid  is  the  last  one  accepted  by  the 


120  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

auctioneer.  There  are  quite  constant  modifica- 
tions of  these  conditions  by  the  pointing  out  of 
imperfections. 

The  most  astounding  practice  about  the  horse 
business  in  a  professional  way  is  the  "bush." 
If  a  definition  of  this  term  should  be  inserted  in 
Webster's  Unabridged  Dictionary  it  would 
probably  read  about  like  this:  "To  bush.— To 
force  or  cajole  the  seller  of  a  horse  to  refund  to 
the  purchaser  a  portion  of  the  price  bid  in  the 
auction  ring."  There  are  various  reasons  for 
this  "bushing."  A  buyer  may  find  something 
on  the  horse  which  he  did  not  see  in  the  ring. 
Then  he  may  insist  on  a  reduction  of  the  price 
and  the  vendor  will  consent  to  be  "bushed" 
rather  than  run  the  risk  of  a  rejection.  Some- 
times the  seller  will  submit  to  the  process  on 
the  statement  of  the  buyer  that  he  has  bought 
the  horse  too  dear.  "Bushing"  is  necessarily 
a  sort  of  a  private  transaction  and  it  would 
therefore  be  useless  to  go  into  further  detail. 
Many  a  horse  has,  however,  gone  through  the 
ring  with  the  "bush"  arranged  beforehand, 
which  is  another  way  of  saying  that  the  horse 
was  bought  before  he  was  auctioned  off. 

In  the  vernacular  of  the  bull-pen  there  are 
many  terms  and  expressions  which  may  be  ex- 
plained. The  most  incomprehensible  I  ever 
heard  was  "bush  and  a  gristle,"  which  indi- 
cated that  the  horse  had  an  incipient  sidebone 
and  was  sold  subject  to  a  reduction  of  the  price 


MAKKET  CLASSES  OF  HOUSES.         121 

bid.  "A  hair  or  two  off  above  the  hoof "  means 
that  the  horse  has  a  wire-cut,  which  may  be  as 
big  as  the  palm  of  your  hand,  but  having  been 
pointed  out,  goes  with  him.  "A  little  bit  of  a 
speck  in  one  eye"  guarantees  one  good  eye — no 
more,  no  less.  "A  little  bluish  in  one  eye" 
means  the  same  thing,  and  so  do  "a  little 
smoke  "  and  "  a  little  feather. "  "  Which  eye  1' ' 
queries  some  one  in  the  crowd.  " Don't  know," 
replies  the  seller,  and  thereupon  no  guarantee 
goes  with  either  eye.  "A  little  rough  behind" 
indicates  that  the  horse  has  a  spavin  or  thor- 
oughpin  or  some  other  unsoundness  about  his 
hocks,  and  it  all  goes  with  him.  "Makes  just  a 
little  noise"  is  one  way  of  saying  that  a  horse 
is  off  in  his  wind  or  "windy."  "Jacks"  are 
bone  spavins.  "Michigan  pads"  are  long- 
shaped  puffs  on  the  outside  of  the  hocks  below 
where  the  thoroughpin  shows.  "A  little  round- 
ing on  one  hock"  implies  that  the  horse  has  a 
curb  and  if  some  one  believes  that  there  is  some- 
thing wrong  with  a  horse  which  cannot  be  read- 
ily discovered  he  alleges  that  "there  is  a  hole  in 
him  somewhere."  "A  little  careless  of  one 
knee"  tells  that  the  horse  is  knee-sprung,  "a 
little  rough  on  the  coronet'"  that  he  has  a  side- 
bone  or  ringbone.  "Stands  a  little  careless" 
indicates  that  the  horse  points  a  fore  foot. 

A  brand  new  one  in  the  trade  just  now  is  "he 
smokes  his  pipe,"  which  indicates  that  a  horse's 
lip  has  been  torn  at  some  time  and  so  hangs 


122  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

down.  If  a  horse  has  a  sloping  rump  he  is 
"  goosey. "  He  is  "  chancy "  if  he  gives  prom- 
ise of  developing  into  something  high-class,  but 
has  been  purchased  for  a  moderate  or  low  price. 
When  a  horse  throws  his  fore  feet  outward  at 
the  finish  of  the  forward  step  he  is  said  to 
"wing,"  "dish"  or  "paddle,"  according  to  the 
choice  of  terms.  They  all  mean  the  same  thing. 
If  he  toes-out  in  front  he  is  "nigger-heeled";  if 
he  toes-in  he  is  "pigeon-toed."  If  he  stands 
with  the  points  of  his  hooks  together  and  his 
hind  toes  out,  he  is  "cow-hocked."  If  the  for- 
mation of  the  foreleg  is  the  reverse  of  what  it 
is  in  a  knee-sprung  horse,  he  is  "calf -kneed" 
or  "stands  back  at  his  knees,"  as  opposed  to 
4 '  over  at  his  knees. ' '  A  horse  that  toes-out  in 
front  will  almost  invariably  "box"  or  "knock" 
or  hit  his  knees  or  "brush"  his  ankles.  If  he 
strikes  his  hind  ankles  he  "interferes" ;  striking 
higher  up  behind  is  called  "speedy-cutting," 
but  it  is  done  by  striking  the  opposing  fore  foot. 
If  he  strikes  the  shoe  of  a  front  foot  with  the 
toe  of  the  hind  he  "forges"  or  "over-reaches." 
If  he  is  off  in  his  wind  he  is  "windy,"  or 
"roars"  or  "whistles."  A  "bull"  is  a  horse 
that  grunts  when  a  pass  is  made  at  him.  Inci- 
dentally it  may  be  remarked  that  about  10  per 
cent  of  all  the  horses  which  reach  the  Chicago 
market  are  windy.  If  he  is  afflicted  with  chorea 
he  is  "stringy"  or  "crampy"  or  a  "shiverer," 
though  he  may  be  "stringy"  on  account  of  some 


MAEKET  CLASSES  OF  HORSES.  123 

injury  and  not  have  chorea.  Obviously  if  he  has 
heaves  he  is  "heavey."  If  he  keeps  on  swing- 
ing from  side  to  side  in  the  stall  like  an  ele- 
phant he  is  a  " weaver.7'  If  a  horse  has  been 
knocked  about  a  bit  in  shipping  he  will  likely 
show  a  " car-bruise,"  but  it  must  be  soft  and 
mellow  and  show  to  be  of  recent  origin.  If  a 
horse  has  never  even  seen  a  harness  he  is  "  a  lit- 
tle green."  It  is  positively  marvelous  how 
diminutive  all  equine  ailments  are  around  the 
mart.  Finally  when  the  horse  has  passed 
through  the  plug,  pelter  and  crowbait  stages  he 
becomes  "a  poor  old  skin,"  and  when  he  either 
can  not  go  any  more  or  dies  he  is  carted  off  to 
the  "refinery"  and  is  there  converted  into  a 
large  variety  of  articles  of  commerce  ranging 
from  salt  beef  (for  export)  and  cordova  leather 
to  buttons  and  glue. 

There  are  also  many  other  terms  of  much 
more  general  significance  and  acceptation  used 
by  horsemen  the  world  over.  For  instance,  a 
"half-bred"  is  a  horse  begotten  by  a  Thorough- 
bred stallion  and  may  have  on  his  dam's  side 
none  of  that  blood  at  all  or  very  much  of  it,  but 
so  long  as  he  is  not  eligible  to  registration  as 
Thoroughbred  he  is  "half-bred."  A  grade  is 
begotten  by  a  pure-bred  horse  from  a  mare  of 
unknown  breeding,  but  this  does  not  apply  to 
the  get  of  the  Thoroughbred  or  standard-bred. 
A  cross-bred  is  by  a  pure-bred  horse  of  one 
breed  from  a  pure-bred  mare  of  another  breed. 


124  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

The  get  of  a  Thoroughbred  stallion  from  a  cold 
blooded  mare  is,  as  stated,  a  half-bred.  Th( 
get  of  a  standard-bred  stallion  from  a  similai 
mare  is  non-standard  or  trotting-bred  or  pac 
ing-bred,  as  the  case  may  be.  "Cold  blood"  is 
that  which  has  not  been  vivified  by  an  infusioi 
of  the  race  horse  or  his  derivatives  and  * '  warn 
blood"  is  that  which  has.  The  part  of  the  horse 
in  front  of  the  saddle  is  called  his  ' '  forehand. ' 
The  bone  and  muscle  of  his  tail  form  his 
' i  dock, ' '  and  when  a  part  of  that  structure  is  cul 
off  he  is  "docked."  Where  his  dock  joins  his 
body  is  his  "croup"  or  "tailhead."  His  but- 
tocks are  his  quarters— never  his  hips.  Be 
tween  his  quarters  and  hocks  are  his  "seconc 
thighs"  or  "gaskins."  His  shanks  are  his 
"canons"  or  his  "shins."  His  nose  and  moutt 
are  his  "muzzle."  Finally  his  left  side  is  his 
near  side  and  his  right  side  his  off  side.  A 
horseman  never  speaks  of  the  right  or  left  side 
of  a  horse. 

Demand  for  draft  geldings  of  great  weight  is 
a  development  of  modern  commercial  condi- 
tions. The  congestion  of  the  streets  of  the  great 
cities  and  the  increase  in  the  bulk  and  weight 
of  the  goods  to  be  hauled  preclude  speed  in 
transit  in  urban  thoroughfares.  Therefore  came 
the  call  for  horses  of  sufficient  weight  and 
strength  to  move  very  heavy  loads.  So  great  a 
factor  has  the  big  draft  horse  become  in  Ameri- 
can commerce  during  the  last  ten  years  that  if 


MAEKET  CLASSES  OP  HORSES.  125 

he  should  be  suddenly  extinguished  the  rail- 
roads would  be,  temporarily  at  least,  forced  out 
of  business  for  lack  of  power  to  transport 
freight  from  warehouse  or  factory  to  the  cars. 
Of  still  later  years  the  desire  of  the  great  mer- 
cantile firms  to  advertise  their  business  by 
putting  good  teams  of  drafters  on  the  streets  to 
make  a  fine  show  as  well  as  to  haul  their  heavy 
loads,  and  their  rivalry  to  win  in  the  show  ring 
ever  since  the  International  Live  Stock  Exposi- 
tion was  established  in  Chicago  in  1900,  has 
created  an  insistent  and  never  satisfied  demand 
for  these  big  horses  and  forced  pricesrskyward 
to  heights  little  dreamed  of  in  the  trade.  Con- 
sistently year  after  year  the  heavy  drafter  holds 
his  pride  of  place  as  the  horse  commanding  the 
most  ready  sale  at  prices  relatively  higher  than 
are  brought  by  any  other  sort.  A  farmer  can 
make  a  larger  profit  on  his  draft  horses  than  on 
any  other  kind  he  can  breed. 

Weights  most  favored  by  purchasers  range 
from  1,800  Ib.  upward,  the  limit,  so  far  as  I 
know  being,  for  the  International  show  at  least, 
2,385  Ib.,  which  was  the  weight  of  Armour's 
Big  Jim  in  November,  1906.  I  have  heard  of 
stallions  alleged  to  weigh  from  2,400  to  2,500 
pounds,  and  I  believe  there  are  a  few  such  in 
the  country,  but  Big  Jim  is  the  largest  horse 
I  have  ever  seen  on  the  scale.  Weights  of 
drafters  are  usually  considered  to  begin  at 
1,600  pounds,  and  the  greater  the  weight  with 


126  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

quality  and1  shapeliness  the  higher  the  price. 
It  has  been  stated  that  better  geldings  have 
been  shown  at  the  International  than  there  ever 
were  stallions.  As  to  this  I  need  not  express 
an  opinion,  but  the  fact  remains  that  some  mar- 
velous specimens  have  been  exhibited  and  the 
keen  rivalry  of  the  great  packing  firms  to  obtain 
the  very  best  always  insures  a  top-notch  price 
for  a  top-notch  animal.  Add  to  this  that  a 
score  or  more  of  the  largest  eastern  firms  are 
always  actively  in  the  market  for  this  best  class 
and  it  is  easily  seen  what  an  alluring  prospect 
is  spread  out  before  the  farmer-breeder  by  this 
sort  of  trade.  To  get  the  big  money,  however, 
it  is-  necessary  always  to  offer  something  the 
buyers  want.  The  farmer  who  deliberately 
caters  to  the  needs  of  the  poor  teamster  who 
ekes  out  a  more  or  less  scanty  living  by  the 
labor  of  his  equine  slaves  need  never  expect  to 
get  the  prices  which  are  secured  by  the  breeder 
who  caters  to  the  wants  of  firms  worth  millions. 
Eemember  this :  No  matter  how  high  a  breeder 
aims  he  will  always  get  some  misfits.  If  he 
aims  to  breed  the  very  best  drafters  he  will  get 
always  a  certain  proportion  of  chunks,  wagon 
horses  and  nondescripts.  If  he  sets  out  to 
breed  any  lower  grade,  he  will  get  enough  poor 
ones  to  put  a  serious  crimp  in  his  receipts. 

During  the  dull  times  which  prevailed  be- 
tween 1892  and  1900  most  farmers  sold  off 
their  best  mares  and  went  out  of  the  business 


MAEKET  CLASSES  OF  HOUSES.       127 

of  breeding  horses.  Thousands  of  these  mares 
were  exported  and  many  more  thousands  were 
put  to  work  in  the  cities.  In  this  way  when 
times  began  to  get  better  and  the  demand  for 
horses  to  revive  most  farmers  found  themselves, 
a  decade  ago,  without  big  mares  from  which  to 
breed.  Therefore  when  we  started  in  again  to 
raise  drafters  we  had  a  mighty  poor  foundation 
on  which  to  build.  Build,  however,  in  some 
shape  we  had  to,  and  the  man  who  had  stuck 
to  his  draft-bred  stock  found  his  wealth  greatly 
increased.  As  it  was  only  in  1899  and  1900  that 
breeding  was  seriously  entered  upon  again  the 
supply  of  big  drafters  must  of  necessity  be  and 
remain  short  for  many  years  to  come.  There 
is  no  more  profitable  line  of  live  stock  raising 
in  which  the  farmer  may  engage.  That  we  have 
done  as  well  as  we  have  is  very  greatly  to  our 
credit,  but  there  is  yet  room  for  great  improve- 
ment. 

From  all  of  the  old  world  breeds  of  draft 
horses  now  known  here  the  high-priced  ones 
may  be  bred.  The  point  is,  paying  due  atten- 
tion to  quality  which  has  heretofore  been  dis- 
cussed, to  breed  the  largest  stallions  to  the 
largest  mares  and  then  feed  the  resulting  foals 
from  birth  to  selling  age.  Weight  without 
quality  will  always  sell,  but  weight  with  quality 
is  the  combination  that  brings  the  big  money. 
The  conformation  clesired  has  already  been 
described  in  Chapter  II.  Generally  speaking 


128  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

stallions  weighing  2,000  pounds  or  more  should 
be  used  and  the  mares  as  large  as  they  can  be 
got.  It  is  a  great  temptation  to  sell  off  good 
young  mares  when,  for  instance,  a  mortgage 
payment  is  coming  due  and  a  shipper  offers  a 
long  price,  but  it  will  pay  best  in  the  long  run 
to  save  religiously  the  best  young  mares,  and 
use  them  for  breeding  stock. 

Crossing  over  from  the  French  breeds  to  the 
British  and  from  the  British  to  the  French  or 
Belgian  will  produce  commercial  drafters  that 
will  sell  to  splendid  advantage,  but  it  is  always 
best  to  stick  to  the  one  chosen  breed,  piling 
cross  upon  cross  and  so  continually  approaching 
a  fixed  ideal.  The  influence  of  proper  environ- 
ment has  already  been  so  fully  dealt  with  that 
it  is  only  needful  now  to  say  that  the  drafter 
is  a  product  of  highly  artificial  conditions  and 
must  be  highly  fed  or  he  will  not  grow  large 
enough. 

Drafters  which  bring  the  highest  prices  are 
always  offered  for  sale  about  as  fat  as  they  can 
be  made.  The  buyers  who  bid  the  longest  prices 
for  drafters  invariably  want  them  fat  and  are 
willing  to  pay  well  for  the  adipose  tissue.  Con- 
sequently the  farmer  who  lets  his  grain  lie  in 
his  bins  and  offers  his  horses  thin  in  flesh  is 
merely  throwing  money  away.  An  instance  is 
in  point.  Matt  Biers,  the  well  known  Illinois 
shipper,  recently  paid  a  farmer  $265  for  a  thin 
four-year-old  gelding,  which  sold  at  auction  in 


MAKKET  CLASSES  OF  HOKSES. 


129 


Chicago  for  $290.  It  was  current  comment  at 
the  time  that  if  the  gelding  had  been  fat  he 
would  have  sold  for  $400  or  more.  Had  the 
farmer  put  the  extra  flesh  on  the  horse  he  would 
have  been  paid  probably  $350,  the  shipper 
would  have  made  a  larger  profit  and  the  buyer 
would  have  been  better  pleased.  According  to 
these  figures  40  or  50  bushels  of  grain  fed  to 
this  horse  would  have  paid  a  dollar  a  bushel 
and  a  net  profit  of  $50  besides  to  the  breeder. 
The  men  who  make  a  business  of  "feeding  out" 
drafters  know  the  value  of  fat.  If  these  profes- 
sionals can  afford  to  pay  from  $200  to  $250  or 
even  more  for  thin  horses,  ship  them  home, 
fatten  them,  ship  them  back  to  market,  pay  com- 
missions and  make  a  profit  in  the  end,  surely 
the  farmer  can  do  much  better  when  he  can 
save  all  the  expenses  incident  to  such  transac- 
tions. Therefore  the  farmer  will  make  money 
by  seeing  to  it  that  his  horses  are  fat  when  he 
offers  'them  for  sale  and  this  is  true  not  alone 
of  drafters  but  of  all  other  horses  as  well. 

Finally  in  order  that  farmers  may  get  a  cor- 
rect idea  of  the  drafters  that  bring  the  big 
money  and  of  the  kind  they  should  strive  to 
produce  there  is  no  method  of  education  so  good 
as  attendance  at  the  International  Live  Stock 
Exposition  and  other  shows  at  which  drafters 
are  exhibited  in  numbers,  and  thorough  investi- 
gation of  the  everyday  demands  of  the  market 
at  any  one  of  the  wholesale  centers — preferably 


130  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

Chicago.  By  following  closely  the  awards  of 
the  judges  and  by  asking  questions  of  represen- 
tative horsemen  when  he  is  puzzled,  a  farmer 
can  acquire  valuable  information  he  will  never 
obtain  at  home.  Be  not  afraid  to  approach  the 
judge  after  his  work  is  done.  Judges  nowadays 
are  generally  perfectly  willing  to  impart  on  re- 
quest such  knowledge  as  they  possess.  Get  out 
and  see  for  yourself.  Rub  shoulders  with  the 
world.  Money  spent  on  making  trips  to  great 
shows  and  markets  need  not  be  charged  up  to 
expenses,  but  with  all  legitimacy  to  capital  ac- 
count and  the  investment  will  produce  a  thou- 
sand fold  greater  interest  than  the  money  would 
earn  if  never  spent  at  all. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
FITTING    FOE    SHOW    AND    SHOWING. 

From  time  immemorial  trial  in  the  arena  has 
been  the  main  bulwark  of  the  breeder 9s  busi- 
ness. The  modern  show  ring  is  the  legitimate 
successor  of  the  Roman  stadium.  It  was  an 
easy  transition  from  the  trial  of  speed  to  the 
trial  of  individuality  and  this  historic  connec- 
tion is  portrayed  today  in  the  names  amphi- 
theater and  coliseum  which  we  bestow  on  the 
buildings  in  which  our  horse  shows  are  held. 
At  its  inception  in  those  far  off  days  the  arena 
was  a  field  of  war ;  the  modern  show  ring  is  no 
kindergarten.  It  is  the  same  invincible  spirit 
which  made  Rome  mistress  of  the  world  and 
which  has  builded  all  the  great  empires  the 
world  has  ever  known  that  has  given  men  honor 
in  the  show  ring.  Modern  show  yard  ethics  de- 
mand that  the  exhibitor  be  a  sportsman;  the 
show  ring  is  no  place  for  the  pusillanimous  or 
cowardly. 

Active  competition  in  the  arena  must  be 
engaged  in  by  the  breeder  before  he  can  learn 
to  gauge  properly  the  merits  and  demerits  of 
his  stock.  Young  animals  may  look  at  home  to 
be  worldbeaters  and  yet  not  come  one-two-six 
when  the  judge  hands  out  the  ribbons.  It  is 

131 


132  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

only  by  submitting  them  to  the  show  ring  test 
that  the  breeder  may  discover  how  they  rank 
with  the  products  of  other  establishments. 
"Who's  afraid!"  should  be  his  motto.  He 
should  court  the  trial  of  the  show  ring  and  cut 
and  come  again  until  he  lands  on  top.  There 
may  be  breeders  who  have  ridden  to  fame  along 
a  road  that  did  not  lead  across  the  tan-bark, 
but  if  there  are  history  does  not  record  their 
names.  Gen.  Sherman's  epigrammatic  defini- 
tion of  war  has  been  accepted  by  the  world  at 
large  as  correct.  The  show  ring  is  the  seat 
of  war,  mimic  it  is  true,  but  war  nevertheless, 
and  the  showman's  campaign  must  be  no  less 
carefully  planned  'and  vigorously  prosecuted 
than  the  famous  march  to  the  sea. 

In  North  America  the  practice  of  exhibitors 
differs  materially  from  that  of  the  old  world. 
Commercialism  dominates  all  modern  American 
life;  the  business  element  is  always  easy  of 
discovery.  The  United  States  and  Canada  are 
the  only  countries  in  the  world  in  which  many 
of  the  leading  prizes  are  won  by  horses  im- 
ported from  beyond  the  seas  and  shown  by 
exhibitors  whose  chief  object  in  trying  to  win 
honors  is  to  make  money.  This  is  not  true,  of 
course,  of  a  few  of  the  rich  men  who  show 
horses  as  a  pastime,  but  these  few  often  work 
the  hardest  to  win  and  it  is  on  the  basis  an- 
nounced that  show  yard  methods,  ethics,  pro- 
cedure and  preparation  must  be  discussed.  It 


FITTING    FOB    SHOW.  133 

is  this  commercial  element  which  has  made 
rivalry  in  the  American  arena  the  most  bitter 
in  the  world  and  supplies  the  reason  why  it  is 
so  essential  that  preparation  be  complete  before 
sending  horses  onto  the  tanbark. 

In  the  old  countries  show  ring  competition  is 
more  or  less  of  a  lovefeast  compared  to  the  bat- 
tles fought  on  American  soil.  Annually  the 
United  Kingdom,  France,  Belgium  and  Ger- 
many are  ransacked  by  the  importers  for  the 
best  horses  that  money  will  buy  and  to  win  with 
these  horses  is  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents, 
not  of  sentiment.  That  our  breeders  have  done 
as  well  as  they  have  in  the  face  of  this  free- 
for-all  competition  speaks  volumes  for  their 
progressive  enterprize  in  the  face  of  discourage- 
ment. We, are  a  free-for-all  nation,  however, 
and  the  breeder  must  win  against  such  competi- 
tion if  he  is  to  gain  the  top  rungs  of  the  ladder. 
It  has  been  done  and  it  can  be  done  again. 
There  are  anomalies  in  national  as  well  as  per- 
sonal affairs  and  the  position  of  the  American 
breeder  is  a  notable  one.  If  he  wins  he  wins 
against  long  odds  and  when  he  wins  his  triumph 
is  all  the  more  glorious.  True  parallels  can  not 
be  drawn  between  the  show  yards  of  Europe 
and  America. 

Friendship  ceases  when  the  horses  enter  the 
arena.  It  is  then  the  business  of  the  exhibitor 
to  win  and  even  a  small  point  overlooked  may 


134  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

mean  defeat.  Thin  horses  can  not  win.  Poorly 
shown  horses  meet  defeat.  Fierce  rivalry  com- 
mands that  the  judges  consider  naught  but  that 
which  is  presented  before  them.  Therefore  the 
first  essential  is  to  put  the  show  horses  onto 
the  tanbark  as  fit  as  hands  can  make  them  and 
to  that  condition  an  overload  of  flesh  is  the 
prime  essential.  Flesh  covers  a  multitude  of 
faults.  It  would  serve  no  good  purpose  to  dis- 
cuss the  question  of  so  overloading  show 
horses ;  the  fact  remains  that  it  must  be  done. 

Nor  must  the  exhibitor  think  that  all  he  has 
to  do  is  to  put  his  horses  into  the  ring  good  and 
fit  and  the  ribbons  will  come  of  themselves. 
Ethically  they  should;  actually  they  will  not. 
Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  marked  advance 
in  the  personnel  and  work  of  the  judges,  but 
there  are  practical  politics  in  the  show  ring 
just  as  there  are  in  everyday  life.  It  is  a  highly 
specialized  type  of  politics  at  that  and  as  in 
all  political  strife  no  one  can  afford  to  overlook 
even  a  single  trivial  point.  An  exhibitor  to  get 
quite  all  that  is  coming  to  him  must  not  only 
get  up  into  the  "push"  but  he  must  be  of  the 
i  t  push. ' '  He  can  only  get  there  by  showing  his 
stuff  with  just  that  extra  touch  of  finish  that 
compels  recognition  and  the  while  remaining 
content  to  persevere  in  his  novitiate  as  a  good 
sportsman  should.  There  is  nothing  Utopian 
or  altruistic  about  the  American  show  ring.  A 
novice  at  the  game  must  fight  for  what  he  gets 


FITTING    FOE    SHOW.  135 

and,  remembering  what  Sherman  said  about 
war,  fight  accordingly.  If  he  does  not  watch 
out  he  will  find  the  cards  stacked  against  him 
and  dealt  to  him  from  the  top,  middle  and  bot- 
tom of  the  deck.  At  that,  more  than  half  the 
cry  of  fraud  and  favoritism  in  the  show  ring 
which  has  gone  up  from  disappointed  exhibitors 
has  lacked  justification  in  fact.  The  really  neat 
jobs  have  slid  through  so  beautifully  that  they 
have  hardly  ever  been  even  suspected,  certainly 
not  detected  until  long  after  they  were  put 
through.  All  of  which  nails  down  the  unalter- 
able fact  that  the  exhibitor  must  watch  out  or 
the  goblins  will  get  him. 

Fitting  horses  for  'show  is  an  easy  enough 
process,  albeit  one  that  is  fraught  with  much 
likelihood  of  trouble  if  it  is  not  properly  done. 
The  hard  part  of  it  all  is  to  pick  out  the  winner 
in  the  rough.  The  better  the  judge  the  more 
surely  will  he  select  a  thin  colt  to  make  a  winner 
when  fitted,  but  the  fcest  will  go  wrong  half  the 
time  or  more.  A  breeder  who  lets  his  young 
stock  get  down  poor  has  all  these  chances  to 
take.  He  would  better  keep  them  in  condition 
and  so  know  more  about  them.  There  is  no 
reason  why  a  breeder  should  not  show  his  horses 
from  foalhood  to  maturity.  The  cumulative  in- 
fluence of  such  success  is  priceless.  Foals  and 
yearlings  should  be  the  main  reliance  of  the 
breeder  in  the  show  ring,  rather  than  his 
matured  stallions.  Therefore  we  begin  with  the 


136  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

foals.  A  group  of  them,  uniform  in  character 
and  brought  out  as  they  should  be,  forms  the 
very  best  advertisement  for  any  breeder  and 
next  conies  a  good  bunch  of  yearlings.  In 
these  classes  he  does  not  meet  the  competition 
of  the  importers.  He  practically  has  the  field 
to  himself.  He  is  overlooking  a  sure  thing  if 
he  does  not  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity. 

As  there  is  no  age  limit  in  the  classes  for  foals 
youngsters  intended  for  exhibition  should  come 
early  and  be  submitted  to  the  forcing  process 
from  the  time  they  are  born.  Foals  are  more 
easily  fitted  than  any  older  horses.  They  should 
have  all  they  will  eat  of  oatmeal  and  bran  and 
after  they  are  ten  weeks  old  or  thereabouts  some 
oilmeal.  It  is  impossible  to  give  any  direct  in- 
structions as  to  quantity.  The  feeder  must  ar- 
range about  that  according  to  the  condition  of 
the  foals.  The  mares  should  be  fed  a  large 
ration  of  grain  and  have  good  grass.  It  never 
pays  to  stint  the  mares  that  are  suckling  foals 
intended  for  exhibition.  A  ration  consisting  of 
ground  oats  one  part,  ground  corn  one  part  and 
bran  two  parts  by  weight,  and  a  double  handful 
of  oilmeal  fed  dry  will  prove  the  best.  They 
should  have  as  much  of  his  as  they  will  eat  up 
clean  twice  a  day ;  it  promotes  the  flow  of  milk 
and  the  foals  prosper  accordingly.  This  is  high 
feeding  of  course,  but  it  must  be  done  in  order 
to  get  the  foals  where  they  should  be.  With 
this  sort  of  milk  from  their  dams  and  what 


s 

FITTING    FOR    SHOW.  137 

grain  the  foals  will  eat  there  need  be  no  worry 
fjbout  their  growth,  but  if  it  is  intended  to  send 
them  into  the  ring  in  the  very  highest  possible 
condition  cow's  milk  may  also  be  fed  to  them. 
Nothing  puts  flesh  so  nicely  on  a  young  animal 
as  milk.  The  charge  that  cow's  milk  makes 
foals  have  soft  joints  is  apparently  made  good 
at  times,  but  then  it  is  the  abuse  of  the  milk 
not  its  use  that  is  to  blame — the  milk  of  itself 
never  yet  did  any  harm;  it  is  the  mountain  of 
flesh  that  can  be  built  up  by  the  use  of  the  milk 
that  influences  the  joints  and  makes  them  soft. 
I  believe  that  just  as  hard  joints  can  be  built 
up  on  milk  as  on  anything  else.  In  fact  it  can 
be  proved  that  this  is  true,  but  it  is  for  the 
feeder  to  determine  how  much  must  be  given 
and  to  see  that  it  is  not  abused.  Moreover  there 
are  always  chances  to  take  in  fitting  any  kind 
of  horses  for  show.  I  have  known  colts  that 
were  allowed  to  bury  their  noses  in  warm  new 
milk  and  drink  all  they  wanted  three  times  a 
day  and  come  out  all  right  every  way  and  I 
have  known  others  that  threatened  to  go  wrong 
on  a  ration  limited  to  two  quarts  twice  a  day. 
Begin  any  time  it  is  desired  to  feed  the  milk 
after  the  colt  has  got  so  it  is  able  to  take  all 
the  milk  his  dam  gives.  Go  easy  at  the  start. 
Feed  three  times  a  day  and  never  give  the 
youngster  all  he  will  drink.  Perhaps  two  quarts 
three  times  a  day  warm  from  the  cow  will  be 
about  right,  though  it  may  be  too  much.  It  will 


138  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

always  be  enough.  If  the  feeder  does  not  under- 
stand his  business  thoroughly  or  if  the  inexperi- 
enced man  is  not  willing  to  take  a  chance  while 
learning  the  feeding  of  cow's  milk  to  foals  the 
process  would  Letter  be  eliminated  altogether. 

According  to  modern  show  ring  ideals  foals  of 
the  draft  breeds  look  better  docked.  They  must 
also  be  taught  to  lead  nicely  and  stand  them- 
selves up  properly  in  the  show  ring.  An  un- 
mannerly foal  is  at  a  grave  disadvantage.  Edu- 
cate them  to  walk  and  trot  freely  to  halter  and 
to  stand  still  when  wanted.  To  this  end  wean 
the  foals  early.  Then  they  will  not  worry  for 
their  mothers,  but  the  worst  thing  possible — I 
have  seen  it  done — is  to  begin  the  weaning 
process  just  before  leaving  for  the  shows,  either 
taking  the  dam  along  and  leaving  the  foal  or 
vice  versa.  That  will  never  do,  no  matter  how 
well  done  to  the  foal  has  been  nor  yet  how  old 
he  is.  The  mare  will  go  wrong  somehow  and 
the  foal  will  never  look  as  he  should  either  at 
home  or  at  the  show.  Trim  the  feet  of  the  foals 
so  as  to  keep  them  level.  Get  them  to  look  as 
nearly  like  little  horses  as  possible — the  more 
so  the  better.  If  they  are  to  be  shown  with  their 
sire  at  their  head,  trim  the  lot  just  alike. 

Coach-bred  foals  should  not  be  fed  milk- — it 
will  make  them  too  gross — unless  one  happens 
to  be  very  backward  and  then  he  may  be  made 
to  catch  up  to  the  others  by  the  added  food. 
With  this  single  exception  their  treatment 


FITTING    FOR    SHOW.  139 

should  be  the  same  as  that  for  any  other  foal 
intended  for  exhibition.  Thorough  education  is 
even  more  essential  in  the  case  of  coach  and 
Hackney  foals  than  with  the  drafters,  but  only 
insofar  as  with  the  mature  animals  of  these 
sorts. 

Foals  fed  for  showing  as  described  will  only 
need  a  let  up  in  dropping  off  the  milk 
when  the  show  season  has  drawn  to  its  close, 
which  under  the  present  system  is  in  December 
and  therefore  in  cold  weather.  After  they  are 
safely  home  the  milk  may  be  tapered  off  and 
stopped  altogether  and  the  straight  grain  ration 
persevered  with,  raw  or  cooked  roots  being 
added.  Carrots,  sugar  beets  or  rutabagas 
should  be  fed  in  quantity  preferably  raw.  The 
grain  ration  should  be  oats  and  bran.  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  definitely  how  much  the  colts 
should  have.  They  should  be  given  a  big  yard 
to  exercise  in  and  they  should  have  as  much 
oats  and  bran  as  they  will  eat  up  clean  and  come 
hungry  to  the  next  meal.  This  with  the  roots 
and  what  bright  hay  they  will  pick  over  will 
keep  them  growing  nicely  and  as  they  should 
grow.  Formerly  I  believed  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  feed  weanlings  soft  food  all  winter.  I 
am  now  convinced — and  the  bulletins  of  the  ex- 
periment stations  will  bear  me  out — that  more 
may  be  done  in  promoting  growth  of  the  right 
sort  by  feeding  grain  dry  and  by  giving  roots 
for  succulence.  Digestive  troubles,  moreover, 


140  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

are  less  likely  to  arise  to  be  overcome  in  colts 
that  are  dry-fed  and  it  has  been  most  conclu- 
sively proved  that  cooking  adds  nothing  to  the 
nutritive  quality  of  the  grain. 

Carried  along  in  this  way  weanlings  will  come 
to  the  rise  of  grass  as  yearlings  about  as 
growthy  as  they  can  be  made,  fat  and  hearty. 
It  is  always  better  to  separate  the  colts  from  the 
fillies  during  the  winter.  They  should  be  ac- 
customed to  the  green  herbage  gradually  and 
then  they  should  have  the  run  of  pasture,  the 
grain  feeding  being  continued.  They  should 
have  shedding  to  run  into  at  will  and  as  they 
grow  older  they  will,  of  course,  require  more 
grain.  In  the  heat  of  summer  the  youngsters 
should  be  taken  up  during  the  day  and  turned 
out  at  night  and  they  should  have  steady  educa- 
tion in  moving  according  to  show  yard  methods. 
The  fillies  will  do  well  in  almost  any  sort  of  a 
field.  The  colts,  being  of  a  more  excitable 
nature,  will  be  better  in  small  lots  of  two  or 
three  acres  and  not  more  than  two  colts  to- 
gether. 

As  the  time  of  showing  approaches  again, 
perhaps  about  a  month  before  the  first  show  is 
to  be  made,  take  them  off  the  pasture  altogether 
so  they  will  stand  shipping.  Early  roots  are 
most  welcome  at  this  time.  If  the  youngsters 
are  brought  up  in  this  way  they  will  be  as  fit 
as  they  should  be  by  the  time  the  car  is  in  the 
siding  and  the  order  to  march  is  given.  After 


FITTING    FOE    SHOW.  141 

the  yearling  shows  have  been  made  the  process 
of  wintering  is  much  the  same  as  before.  The 
youngsters  need  about  all  the  grain  they  will 
eat  under  any  circumstances  and  the  feeder  can 
alone  determine  what  their  rations  should  be. 

Two-year-old  colts  brought  to  their  second 
season  this  way  should  have  box  stalls  and  pad- 
docks attached,  each  colt  a  stall  and  a  paddock 
to  himself.  I  have  seen  valuable  colts  run  in 
bunches  as  two-year-olds,  but  it  is  a  poor  prac- 
tice. They  wrestle  and  fight  and  the  liability 
to  accident  and  consequent  blemish  is  great.  Of 
course  if  it  is  desired  to  run  the  colts  along 
on  little  or  no  grain  perhaps  they  will  get  along 
nicely  enough  together  in  large  lots,  but  I  do 
not  think  that  is  the  way  to  rear  pure-bred  colts. 
Keep  the  youngsters  schooled  in  the  ways  of  the 
arena. 

This  is  as  good  a  pla^e  to  say  it  as  any  other : 
It  is  impossible  to  explain  didactically  the  art 
of  feeding  young  horses  for  show  purposes.  It 
is  an  art  and  one  that  may  be  learned  only  by 
experience.  It  would  be  foolish  to  try  to  set 
down  any  positive  rules  for  the  feeding  of 
young  horses  intended  for  the  show  ring.  They 
will  stand  a  lot  of  feeding  and  they  must  have 
it,  but  as  every  horse  is  different  in  some  par- 
ticular from  the  next  one  only  a  very  general 
foundation  can  be  laid  down.  On  this  the  feeder 
must  build  for  himself,  but  he  must  build  with 


142  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

the  knowledge  that  he  can  kill  one  with  that 
which  will  not  be  half  enough  for  the  next. 

With  the  colts  thirty  months  old  or  there- 
abouts and  the  show  season  over  they  will  be 
practically  mature.  They  will  grow  some  more, 
to  be  sure,  but  it  will  be  little  in  comparison  to 
what  they  have  done  in  the  days  through  which 
we  have  followed  them.  Exercising  now  be- 
comes a  most  important  factor,  though  many 
people  think  a  colt  coming  three  years  old  will 
do  very  well  if  given  a  yard  in  which  to  run 
during  cold  weather.  A  show  colt,  and  it  does 
not  matter  how  good  he  is,  should  now  be  broken 
and  made  to*  work  as  I  have  already  described. 
Then  comes  his  season  as  a  three-year-old  and 
more  work.  If  the  colt  is  moderately  worked 
and  in  full  round  flesh  at  July  1,  say  60  days 
before  the  shows  open,  these  60  days  will  be 
ample  to  put  on  the  extra  flesh  he  must  have  to 
win.  It  is  unnecessary  to  have  him  right  on 
razor  edge  when  you  first  take  him  away  from 
home.  The  same  amount  of  grain  and  less  work 
will  put  on  all  the  needed  flesh  and  his  legs  will 
stay  right,  while  he  will  feel  so  much  better 
than  an  idle  colt  that  there  will  be  no  compari- 
son between  them  in  the  ring.  Never  forget 
the  lessons  that  make  for  handlines  in  the  show 
ring  at  the  halter.  During  the  month  that 
comes  just  before  he  goes  away  from  home  let 
him  have  these  lessons  daily.  If  he  is  suddenly, 


FITTING    FOB    SHOW.  143 

for  any  cause,  forced  into  absolute  idleness,  cut 
off  the  grain  altogether. 

There  is  no  reason  why  stallions  should  not 
be  given  their  exercise  in  the  harness  and  yet  be 
sent  into  the  ring  ready  to  the  minute.  The  crack 
geldings  of  Armour,  Morris,  Swift  or  Pabst  got 
their  work  in  the  leather — not  much  it  is  true, 
but  enough  to  make  and  keep  them  handy — and 
I  have  never  seen  stallions  shown  in  better  fet- 
tle. We  need  more  strength  and  virility  in  our 
stallions.  I  know  that  the  advocacy  of  such 
methods  of  fitting  for  show  will  sound  strange 
to  many  of  the  old  school  in  which  I  was.  brought 
up,  but  I  can  not  close  my  eyes  to  the  accom- 
plished facts  presented  to  my  view.  When  I 
have  seen  the  Armour  and  other  geldings  sweep- 
ing around  the  arena  at  all  gaits  from  the  state- 
ly walk  to  the  keen  run  for  an  hour  at  a  time — a 
feat  that  none  of  the  stallions  shown  could  ac- 
complish—and each  individual  gelding  in  as 
high  flesh  as  any  of  the  entires  fitted  without 
work,  I  have  learned  that  the  best  way  to  pre- 
pare horses  fo<r  the  arena  is  not  in  idleness 
but  in  the  harness.  I  know  that  it  would  be 
practically  impossible  for  the  importers  to  fit 
all  their  stallions  as  suggested,  but  that  does 
not  lessen  the  force  of  my  contention  that  it 
would  be  vastly  better  for  the  horses  themselves 
and  for  the  men  who  buy  them  if  they  would. 
I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying  that 
the  great  geldings  are  made  ready  for  showing 


144  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

on  full  work,  nor  yet  that  all  stallions  could 
so  be  made  ready,  but  some  of  them  can  be 
made  ready  on  work  enough  to  make  it  pay  to 
work  them  and  others  on  tasks  so  little  lessened 
that  the  difference  would  be  negligible.  In 
any  case  it  is  so  much  easier  for  a  man  to  sit 
upon  a  box  and  drive  that  the  horses  would 
always  get  work  enough  to  preserve  that  health- 
ful vigor  which  is  so  essential  to  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  race  in  its  best  estate. 

However  it  often  happens  that  a  thin  horse 
is  to  be  put  in  condition  for  the  show  ring  and 
the  owner  will  not  consider  putting  him  to  work. 
The  period  of  time  which  must  intervene  be- 
tween the  day  on  which  he  is  taken  up  and  the 
day  on  which  he  will  have  to  be  sent  into  the 
ring  will  have  of  course  a  material  bearing  on 
the  manner  of  feeding,  and  there  is  something 
also  in  the  number  of  chances  an  owner  is  will- 
ing to  take.  Likewise  there  is  much  in  the  in- 
dividual. I  have  known  horses  take  a  whole 
year  to  get  ready  and  then  lose  their  show  con- 
dition in  a  week.  There  are  some  hard  wooden 
beasts  that  will  never  feed  into  show  shape.  On 
the  other  hand  there  are  some  horses  that  it  is 
hard  to  keep  out  of  show  shape — in  idleness. 
It  is,  however,  safe  to  say  that  on  any  reason- 
ably big-framed  horse  from  two  years  old  up- 
ward 500  pounds  may  be  put  on  in  six  months 
if  he  is  so  thin  to  start  with  that  his  ribs  may  be 
distinguished.  When  a  horse  is  idle  he  may  be 


FITTING    FOE    SHOW.  145 

fed  a  great  variety  of  food  and  suffer  no  ill  con- 
sequences and  the  variation  of  the  grain  will 
coax  him  to  eat  with  greater  relish.  I  do  not 
advocate  this  kind  of  feeding.  I  will  describe 
the  methods  in  vogue  some  years  ago  by  a  firm 
whose  fame  is  worldwide,  whose  prize-winning 
record  placed  it  clearly  in  the  forefront  among 
its  contemporaries  and  whose  losses  by  death 
from  colic  and  kindred  troubles  were  enormous. 
In  the  morning  about  five  the  horses  were 
given  crushed  oats  and  bran,  fed  dampened 
with  cut  hay— enough  to  fill  a  common  stable 
bucket.  At  ten  in  the  forenoon  they  got  whole 
oats,  bran  and  cut  hay.  At  two  in  the  afternoon 
they  got  the  same  feed  as  in  the  early  morning 
and  around  six  in  the  evening  they  got  boiled 
barley,  crushed  oats,  ground  corn,  oilmeal  and 
cut  hay,  and  usually  some  roots  boiled  with  the 
barley.  The  feeder  was  a  man  of  great  experi- 
ence and  highly  competent  in  every  way.  I 
should  judge  that  the  horse  got  from  16  to  20 
pounds  of  grain  and  bran  each  day  and  only 
very  moderate  exercise.  Often  as  the  time  of 
showing  approached  this  feeding  was  supple- 
mented by  the  traditional  drink  at  nine  o'clock 
at  night.  This  consisted  of  the  jelly  made 
from  perhaps  a  pint  of  oilmeal,  a  couple  of 
pounds  of  oatmeal,  half  a  pound  of  molasses 
and  water  or  milk  to  make  something  more  than 
half  a  bucketful.  With  all  this  the  individual 

caretakers  would  oftentimes  feed  extra  grain 

10 


146  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

between  meals.  This  is  high  feeding  properly 
so  called.  Any  one  who  wishes  to  take  his 
chances  of  colic,  founder,  inflammation  of  the 
bowels  and  the  like  with  it  may  do  so.  The 
stomach  and  intestines  of  horses  so  fed  are  so 
soft  that  you  can  stick  your  fingers  through 
them  anywhere  and  not  half  try.  Any  one  who 
wants  to  build  a  horse  up  for  show  in  this  way 
may  do  it. 

The  prudent  showman  maps  out  his  plan  of 
campaign,  studies  out  his  best  routes,  hires  his 
car  for  the  show  season  and  ships  out  in  time 
so  that  he  will  arrive  at  his  destination  a  couple 
of  days  before  the  show  opens.  It  is  best  to 
rent  a  palace  car  for  a  stated  number  of  weeks 
or  months.  If  it  is  not  desired  to  go  to  this 
expense — though  it  always  pays — then  a  box  car 
(or  more)  must  be  fitted  with  stalls  made  of 
strong  lumber,  just  as  they  might  be  built  in  a 
barn.  Three  horses  may  often  be  put  in  one 
end  of  the  car,  but  if  mature  stallions  are  being 
taken  along  two  will  be  enough,  which  means 
that  one  partition  must  be  built,  and  it  is  hardly 
needful  to  say  that  it  should  be  built  so  that 
nothing  short  'of  an  ax  will  knock  it  down. 
Horses  will  only  ride  well  in  a  box  car  either 
head  to  or  tail  to  the  motion.  Arrangements 
having  been  made  with  the  railway  officials  for 
the  use  of  the  same  car  during  the  entire  season 
the  lumber  used  may  be  knocked  away  and 
saved  when  the  return  journey  is  made  and  the 


FITTING    FOE    SHOW.  147 

horses  are  once  more  safely  on  the  home  land- 
ing platform. 

In  getting  to  and  from  landing  chutes  and 
unloading  platforms  at  fair  grounds  the  shipper 
will  acquire  a  varied  assortment  of  experience. 
Horses  do  not  need  much  feed  in  transit — only 
about  enough  to  keep  them  quiet.  -  A  barrel 
should  be  taken  along  for  water  and  filled  peri- 
odically in  transit.  It  pays  to  get  horses  off  the 
car  as  soon  as  possible  after  they  stop  rolling. 
When  standing  still  they  soon  begin  to  fret. 
At  junction,  division  and  terminal  points  the 
yardmasters  will  be  found  to  be  human  and 
therefore  appreciative  of  common  .decency  and 
civility  and  occasionally,  in  my  experience, 
amenable  to  other  influences.  It  pays  to  be  a 
good  fellow  in  the  show  business. 

Make  entries  in  proper  season  and  give  full 
details.  Never  let  the  suspicion  that  you  have 
a  "ringer"  with  you  get  abroad.  Ask  as 
few  favors  of  the  show  management  as  pos- 
sible and  as  a  general  thing  put  up  with 
inconvenience  to  the  point  of  imposition  rather 
than  raise  a  row.  It  pays.  It  pays  also  to  do 
whatever  the  management  asks  in  the  way  of 
getting  horses  into  the  ring,  parading  and  so 
forth.  Give  the  people  a  show  whenever  you 
can.  As  the  advertising  is  all  that  any  exhibitor 
gets  directly  for  his  labor,  his  stalls  should  be 
tastefully  decorated,  the  placards  showing  forth 
in  large  plain  letters  whose  horses  are  being 


148  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

shown,  and  civil  replies  should  be  returned  to 
all  visitors.  There  is  another  thing  that  pays : 
have  a  pleasant  word  for  everyone.  No  one 
ever  can  tell  by  the  looks  of  a  man  whether  he 
is  a  prospective  purchaser  or  not.  I  have  seen 
thousand-dollar  bills  fished  out  of  vests  that 
were  not  worth  three  dimes. 

True  sportsmanship  demands  that  the  exhibi- 
tor take  victory  or  defeat  philosophically.  The 
man  who  is  blatant  in  success  and  lugubrious  in 
defeat  bumps  against  trouble  sooner  or  later. 
An  exhibitor  should  act  like  a  man,  not  like  a 
spoiled  child  who  does  not  want  to  play  in  any 
one  else's  yard  unless  the  game  goes  his  way. 
The  show  yard  is  no  child 's  playground.  There 
is  only  one  way  to  learn  its  ropes,  which  is  to 
get  into  the  game  and  play  it  for  all  it  is  worth. 
Just  how  to  play  it  each  must  learn  for  himself. 
No  amount  of  precept  will  serve  to  portray  its 
inner  workings.  But  it  may  be  said  in  conclu- 
sion that  a  man  must  have  the  goods  to  win  and 
he  must  play  his  cards  aright.  He  may  have 
the  goods  and  he  may  not  get  all  that  is  coming 
to  him.  However  when  he  has  the  goods  and 
stays  awake  he  will  generally  find  out  where  to 
go  and  what  to  do. 


PART  II. 

THE  BREEDS. 

"What  is  a  breed?"  Many  different  replies 
are  made  to  this  question.  We  talk  glibly  about 
this  breed  and  that  breed;  of  breed  character 
and  breed  type,  but  when  it  comes  to  putting  an 
accepted  but  not  conceived  definition  into  cold 
type  it  is  altogether  a  different  matter.  Darwin 
and  other  distinguished  men  of  science  have 
told  us  from  time  to  time  what  a  breed  is  as  op- 
posed to  a  species  or  variety  or  sub-variety,  but 
I  question  very  much  if  any  definition  yet  given 
quite  fills  the  bill.  Webster  gives  among  others 
these  definitions  of  the  word:  "A  race  or 
progeny  from  the  same  parents  or  stock;  as,  a 
new  breed  of  sheep. "  "A  cast,  a  race  or  kind 
of  men  or  other  animals  which  have  an  alliance 
by  nativity  or  some  distinctive  qualities  in  com- 
mon," and  the  phrase  used  as  illustration  is 
' i  Greyhounds  of  the  best  breed. ' '  The  first  may 
be  let  go  for  what  it  is  worth.  The  second  falls 
far  short  in  that  the  animals  in  a  breed  need 
not  necessarily  have  a  common  parent  or  even 
a  common  line  of  descent  and  the  mere  posses- 
sion of  "some  distinctive  qualities  in  common" 
will  not  by  any  means  make  a  breed. 

So  far  as  our  modern  breeds,  are  concerned 
they  are  all  composite  in  origin  and  there  der- 

149 


150  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

ivation  may  therefore  be  passed  up  without 
farther  consideration.    In  any  case  it  is  implied 
in  the  following  which  is  presented  as  the  cor- 
rect definition  of  the  term  under  consideration: 
/     A  breed  is  a  group  of  animals  possessing 
/  homologus  character  by  inheritance  so  firmly 
I  fixed  as  to  be  transmitted  with  reasonable  cer- 
*  tainty  under  suitable  environment. 

Place  fifty  well  bred  Jersey  cows  in  a  row, 
fifty  West  Highland  bulls,  fifty  Clydesdale 
horses  and  fifty  Angus  bulls.  Now  screen  from 
view  all  of  -the  Jersey  cows  and  the  Highland 
bulls  but  their  heads;  all  of  the  Clydesdale 
horses  but  their  legs  from  the  knees  and  hocks 
downward,  and  all  of  the  Angus  bulls  but  the 
hind  quarters,  and  a  correct  idea  of  homologous 
character  may  be  obtained.  It  is  the  sum  of 
these  homologues  in  each  instance  that  goes  to 
make  up  what  we  briefly  refer  to  nowadays  as 
breed  type  or  character.  In  just  so  far  as  this 
test  is  met  by  the  entire  membership  of  a  breed 
it  may  be  counted  on  to  reproduce  with  reason- 
able certainty  the  homologous  character  which 
it  possesses.  Vice  versa  in  just  so  far  as  a  breed 
will  not  meet  this  test  it  will  fail.  In  following 
out  this  thought  we  may  readily  learn  how  in- 
definite have  been  the  aims  of  many  breeders — 
even  to  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  in  some 
of  our  most  celebrated  breeds,  taken  in  a  mass, 
real  homologous  character  is  not  present. 
It  must  be  understood  that  reference  is  made 


THE    BREEDS.  151 

to  the  breed  as  a  whole  first  of  all,  then  to  such 
selected  representatives  as  we  call  show  stock. 
When  the  latter  do  not  present  an  adequate 
amount  of  homologous  character,  so  much  the 
worse.  A  breed  must  be  judged  in  its  entirety, 
not  by  a  few  fine  specimens  which  may  rise  in 
sparkling  fashion  over  the  dead  mediocrity  of 
the  great  mass.  The  touch  of  the  masterhand 
is  in  evidence  always,  but  it  not  infrequently 
happens  that  the  best  horse  in  a  iring  does  not 
really  typify  the  breed  to  which  he  is  alleged  to 
belong. 

At  the  risk  of  being  called  tedious  I  desire  to 
emphasize  the  fact  that  it  is  the  sum  of  the 
homologous  characters  which  constitutes  breed 
type  and  the  animal  which  embodies  in  itself  the 
most  of  these  characters  in  their  highest  estate 
is  the  animal  which  must  be  adjudged  the  best 
according  to  the  standard  of  the  breed  involved. 
It  is  along  these  broad  lines  that  the  various 
breeds  are  described  in  future  chapters. 

Stud  book  (registration  and  maintenance  of 
breed  purity  must  always  go  hand  in  hand. 
Errors  of  omission  and  commission  will  creep 
into  stud  books  and  in  itself  registration  is 
worth  little  unless  it  certifies  to  a  line  of  descent 
from  ancestors  of  high  class,  but  it  may  be 
accepted  without  question  that  in  this  modern 
age  it  would  be  impossible  to  maintain  the 
purity  of  any  breed  without  a  well  managed 
stud  book.  Popularly  too  much  weight  is  ao 


152  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

corded  to  the  numbers  following  the  name  of  a 
horse.  The  word  ' i  registered ' '  is  one  to  conjure 
with  and  it  has  been  made  a  scapegoat  to  bear 
away  into  the  wilderness  of  credulity  a  vast  load 
of  inferiority. 

Too  many  are  willing  to  believe  that  because 
a  horse  is  registered  in  some  stud  book  he  must 
be  a  good  one.  This  easy  credulity  has  led  to 
the  establishment  of  bogus  books  of  record  in 
which  registration  implies  absolutely  nothing, 
but  that  the  certificate  has  been  granted  and  the 
recording  fee  paid.  Ignorance  of  the  real  value 
of  record  and  of  the  names  of  the  stud  books  in 
which  registration  really  means  something  has 
caused  many  a  man  to  pay  his  money  for  a 
grade  in  the  belief  that  he  was  buying  a  pure- 
bred. In  the  appendix  to  this  volume  will  be 
found  a  list  of  all  the  stud  books  recognized  by 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  at 
the  date  of  publication.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
list. is  a  long  one  and  it  has  grown  to  its  present 
proportions  practically  within  the  past  thirty 
years. 

In  this  connection  it  is  but  just  that  fitting 
recognition  be  extended  to  the  late  J.  H.  San- 
ders, founder  of  THE  BREEDER'S  GAZETTE,  for 
the  splendid  part  he  played  in  promoting  the 
establishment  of  many  of  the  stud  books  now 
so  widely  known.  I  am  within  the  mark  in 
stating  that  we  have  never  had  a  man  so  widely 
versed  in  horse  lore  as  he  was  in  his  time.  I 


THE    BKEEDS.  153 

am  also  within  the  mark  in  stating  that  he  was 
actively  connected  with  the  foundation  of  almost 
every  stud  book  of  standing  in  which  the  far- 
mers of  America  are  interested  today.  By  his 
unfailing  perception  and  his  indomitable  energy 
he  brought  order  out  of  chaos  in  a  time  when 
there  were  no  trails  blazed  for  him  to  follow. 
He  was  a  practical  breeder  and  a  thorough- 
going encyclopedia  in  matters  pertaining  to  the 
horse.  Not  only  did  he  render  an  incalculably 
great  service  in  advocating  and  aiding  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  stud  books  in  which  the  far- 
mers are  most  generally  interested,  but  when 
Kentucky  revolted  against  the  close  rule  of  the 
arbitrary  Wallace,  Mr.  Sanders  was  selected  to 
compile  the  new  stud  book,  which  he  did  in  a 
manner  reflecting  his  most  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  American  harness  race  horse  and  its 
origin. 

I  desire  also  to  pay  my  personal  tribute  to  his 
memory.  No  man  in  agricultural  America  has 
left  behind  him  so  great  a  monument.  Go 
wherever  a  furrow  is  turned  in  American  soil 
and  there  the  fruit  of  his  works  is  made  mani- 
fest. Egypt's  pyramids  will  in  time  turn  to 
dust,  but  the  monument  James  Harvey  Sanders 
builded  will  gather  bulk  and  strength  and 
beauty  as  time  rolls  on.  In  the  gleam  of  the 
golden  grain  in  bin  and  crib ;  in  the  show  yard 
and  in  the  stock  yard  are  blazoned  the  praises 
which  are  his  by  right.  Progressive  always,  ag- 


154  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

gressive  when  occasion  required,  a  master  of 
detail  as  well  as  a  man  of  affairs,  the  world  is 
vastly  better  for  the  touch  of  his  vanished  hand. 

THE  DEAFT  BEEEDS. 
History  contains  no  record  of  any  large  breed 
of  horses  having  been  developed  on  high 
ground.  Omitting  detail  it  was  not  until  the 
horse  in  his  westward  migration  reached  the 
low-lying  marshy  lands  of  northern  Europe 
that  he  began  to  gather  the  bulk  and  strength 
which  have  made  for  the  present-day  drafter. 
It  is  also  immaterial  where  the  first  real 
drafters  were  developed.  That  development 
was  probably  simultaneous  athwart  a  consider- 
able stretch  of  country.  Still  we  may  accept 
that  part  of  Belgium  and  Holland  erstwhile  de- 
nominated Flanders  as  the  fountainhead  from 
which  flowed  the  stream  which  has  given  us  the 
true  draft  horse.  From  the  parent  stock  there 
obtained  the  various  heavy  breeds^as  we  know 
them  today  have  been  evolved  according  to  the 
desires  of  the  various  peoples  which  have  de- 
veloped them.  As  there  was  no  native  American 
heavy  horse  he  had  to  be  imported  and  as  the 
importing  business  has  grown  and  ramified  we 
may  divide  the  draft  breeds  into  three  groups 
—the  French,  the  British  and  the  Belgian. 

THE  FEENCH  GEOUR 

In  France   the  government  recognizes   two> 
pure  draft  breeds — the  Percheron  and  the  Bou- 


o   _ 


en  2 

H  5 

PS  OH 


<J  2 


THE   FRENCH  GROUP.  155 

lonnais.  Other  breeds  recognized  at  the  shows 
but  not  claimed  to  be  pure  are  the  Nivernais, 
the  Bretonnais  and  the  Ardennais,  and  there 
are  also  prizes  offered  for  a  nondescript  lot 
called  Mulassiere,  which  means  "  mule-bear- 
ing, "  and  the  design  is  to  encourage  the  produc- 
tion of  loosely  built  mares  well  suited  to  mate 
with  the*  asses  of  Poitou.  The  Mulassiere,  how- 
ever, may  be  dismissed  from  consideration. 

On  their  first  introduction  to  the  United 
States  the  draft  horses  of  France  were  all  in- 
cluded within  the  common  title  of  "  Norman. " 
There  was  none  but  the  Norman  horse  imported 
from  France,  but  some  twenty  years  later  a  dis- 
position to  call  them  Percherons  appeared  on 
the  part  of  those  who  believed  the  horses  of  La 
Perche  were  the  most  representative  and  most 
clearly  entitled  to  be  called  the  typical  Gallic 
drafter.  A  bitter  struggle  was  precipitated  be- 
tween those  who  favored  the  retention  of  the 
general  title  Norman  and  those  who  insisted 
upon  specialization  under  the  title  Percheron. 
A  compromise  was  effected  and  the  first  volume 
of  the  Percheron-Norman  Stud  Book  was  pub- 
lished, the  elder  Sanders  being  the  editor. 

Peace,  however,  did  not  reign  long.  The 
Percheron  contingent  appeared  to  be  gaining 
the  upper  hand  and  the  supporters  of  the  Nor- 
man nomenclature  broke  away,  formed  an  asso- 
ciation for  themselves  and  began  the  publication 
of  the  National  Register  of  Norman  Horses.  It 


156  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

should  be  clearly  understood  that  in  calling 
their  horses  Normans  these  importers  and 
breeders  did  not  desire  to  imply  that  the  ani- 
mals all  came  from  Normandy,  but  rather  that 
Norman  was  a  generic  title  which  included  all 
the  draft  breeds  of  France,  and  as  these  breeds 
were  about  one  and  the  same  thing  they  were 
all  equally  entitled  to  registration.  "  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Percheron  contingent,  insisting 
that  the  Percheron  was  the  typical  drafter  of 
France,  dropped  the  Norman  from  the  name  of 
the  breed  and  continued  the  publication  of  the 
Percheron  Stud  Book.  The  present  National 
Kegister  of  French  Draft  Horses  is  the  lineal 
successor  of  the  National  Eegister  of  Norman 
Horses  and  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of 
America  has  come  to  the  association  presently 
controlling  it  from  the  beginning  made  under 
the  late  J.  H.  Sanders,  as  already  detailed. 

In  the  French  Draft  book  are  registered  all 
imported  stallions  and  mares  which  are  record- 
ed in  the  General  Draft  Horse  Stud  Book  of 
France.  In  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  only 
pure-bred  Percherons  may  be  registered.  This 
is  to  say  that  Percherons  may  be  registered  as 
French  Drafters  if  the  owner  so  desires,  while 
horses  of  the  Percheron  breed  only  may  be 
recorded  as  Percherons.  In  this  way  the  effort 
at  specialization  initiated  along  back  in  the  mid- 
dle seventies  has  been  achieved.  As  bearing 
somewhat  on  this  matter  of  registration  of  all 


THE   FRENCH  GROUP.  157 

French  draft  horses  in  the  National  Register, 
it  may  again  be  pointed  out  that  the  Percheron 
and  the  Boulonnais  are  the  only  draft  breeds 
recognized  by  the  French  Government  as  pure. 
The  Ardennais  are  being  improved  mostly  by 
the  use  of  heavy  Belgian  stallions  and  are  re- 
corded in  the  Belgian  Draft  Stud  Book.  The 
Nivernais  are  being  improved  by  the  use  of 
Percheron  stallions  'and  the  Bretonnais  are  a 
mixture  of  everything  under  the  sun.  It  is  per- 
fectly true  that  it  is  impossible  invariably  to 
pick  out  pure-bred  Percherons  from  horses  of 
mixed  French  Draft  breeding,  but  on  the  other 
hand  it  is  not  infrequently  possible  to  do  so.  I 
desire  no  controversy  in  this  matter.  These  are 
the  facts.  It  only  remains  to  say  that  whatever 
the  merits  of  the  dispute  originally  were  a  colt 
or  filly  will  sell  for  more  money  if  it  is  eligible 
to  record  in  the  Percheron  books  than  if  it  is 
only  eligible  to  record  in  the  French  Draft 
book. 

Much  misapprehension  exists  in  this  country, 
and  indubitably  much  misrepresentation  has 
been  resorted  to,  in  connection  with  the  brands 
often  found  under  the  names  of  horses  imported 
from  France.  Under  the  French  law  stallions 
are  " approved,"  which  carries  with  it  a  sub- 
sidy of  money  from  the  government;  "author- 
ized" which  carries  no  subsidy,  and  "certified." 
There  are  only  two  maladies  for  possession  of 
which  approval,  authorization  or  certification  is 


158  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

refused  in  France — periodic  ophthalmia,  or 
moonblindness,  and  thick  wind.  The  French 
names  for  these  unsoundnesses  are  "fluxion 
periodique"  and  "cornage." 

Stallions  are  not  permitted  to  serve  mares 
owned  by  others  than  their  proprietors  unless 
they  have  been  examined  and  certified  as  free 
from  these  troubles  by  a  board  of  veterinarians 
appointed  by  the  government.  Any  one  who 
stands  for  public  service  a  stallion  that  has  not 
been  approved,  authorized  or  certified  is  liable 
to  fine,  and  the  owners  of  mares  using  such  a 
horse  may  also  be  prosecuted  and  punished. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  law  to  prevent  a  breeder 
using  any  sort  of  an  unsound  stallion  to  his  own 
mares.  When  a  stallion  has  been  examined 
and  pronounced  free  from  the  unsoundnesses 
named  he  is  branded  on  the  neck  under  the 
mane  with  a  five-pointed  star.  When  certifica- . 
tion  is  withheld  on  account  of  the  horse  failing 
to  pass  the  veterinary  ordeal  he  is  branded 
under  the  mane  with  the  letter  E,  which  stands 
for  the  French  word  "refuse" — refused.  The 
five-pointed  star  and  the  letter  E  are  the  only 
brands  placed  on  horses  by  the  French  govern- 
ment. In  France  draft  colts  cannot  stand  for 
public  service  until  they  are  over  thirty  months 
of  age. 

Certification  of  freedom  from  moonblind- 
ness and  thick  wind  is  granted  for  one  year 
only.  Each  stallion  designed  for  public  service 


UNIVERSITY  1 


THE   FRENCH  GROUP.  159 

must  be  submitted  for  examination  annually, 
and  in  the  event  that  a  horse  should  fail  to  pass, 
after  having  in  previous  seasons  gone  through 
all  right,  the  letter  E  is  branded  over  the  five- 
pointed  star. 

Horses  and  mares  registered  by  the  French 
Percheron  Society  (Societe  Hippique  Perche- 
ronne)  are  branded  on  the  neck  beneath  the 
mane  with  a  brand  which  looks  something  like 
the  American  dollar  mark.  This  brand  is  a 
combination  of  the  letters  S  and  P — standing 
for  Societe  Percheronne.  These  three  brands— 
the  five-pointed  star,  the  letter  E  and  the  com- 
bination of  the  letters  SP  are  the  only  official 
marks  placed  on  horses  originating  in  France. 

Exception  may  be  made  to  this  in  the  case  of 
the  Nivernais  stallions,  which  have  their  stud 
book  numbers  branded  on  their  necks,  but  this 
would  seem  to  be  a  different  matter  altogether 
in  that  a  collection  of  numerals  cannot  be  read- 
ily mistaken  for  a  single  simple  mark. 

There  is,  however,  nothing  in  the  French  law 
to  prevent  any  breeder  or  importer  branding 
his  horses  how  and  where  he  pleases.  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  French  breeder  does  so  brand 
his  horses,  but  I  understand  that  at  least  one 
prominent  American  importer  marks  his  pur- 
chases with  the  hot  iron.  There  need,  however, 
be  no  mistake  made,  if  it  be  kept  in  mind  that 
the  brands  of  the  government  are  but  two  in 
number,  indicating  acceptance  or  rejection — the 
five-pointed  star  and  the  letter  E. 


160  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

THE  PEECHEEON. 

Undoubtedly  the  Percheron  breed  flows  from 
the  same  general  fountain  head  in  Flanders  as 
the  rest  of  the  draft  breeds.  The  currently  ac- 
cepted belief  is  that  on  the  defeat  of  the  Sara- 
cenic host  by  Charles  Martel  in  732  the  eastern 
stalli6ns  of  the  invading  host  were  crossed  with 
the  larger  horses  of  the  low  countries  and  the 
formation  of  the  Percheron  laid  in  that  manner. 
Continued  infusions  of  Arabian  and  Andalusian 
blood  seem  to  have  been  poured  into  the  strain, 
authentic  information  to  this  effect  being  avail- 
able. It  is  not  strange  then  that  75  or  80  years 
ago  we  find  that  the  Percheron  was  a  diligence 
or  bus  horse,  weighing  from  1,200  to  1,400  Ibs., 
according  to  the  official  statement.  The  increase 
in  size  during  the  past  three-quarters  of  a  cen- 
tury to  the  present  scale  is  traceable,  as  in  all 
other  breeds,  to  the  demands  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion and  in  part  also  to  the  insistent  demand  of 
American  importers  for  ton  horses. 

It  is  probably  beyond  question  that  French 
horses  of  draft  blood  were  imported  into  Can- 
ada about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, probably  earlier,  but  the  first  authentic 
history  we  have  of  an  imported  horse  making  a 
great  mark  in  the  stud  is  of  the  McNitt  horse  or 
European,  landed  at  Montreal  about  the  year 
1816.  There  is  some  dispute  about  the  weight 
of  this  stallion.  He  was  a  gray  and  as  he  was 
a  fast  trotter,  and  begot  Alexander's  Norman, 


THE  PERCHERON.  161 

which  founded  an  unimportant  strain  of  trot- 
ters, it  is  unlikely  that  he  was  at  all  large.  It  is 
history  also  that  Alexander's  Norman  was 
never  intended  to  be  used  as  a  getter  of  trotters. 
He  was  more  or  less  of  the  draft  type,  as  draft 
type  went  in  these  far  back  days,  and  it  cannot 
be  said  that  his  blood  has  been  of  material 
benefit  to  the  trotter  as  a  breed. 

Percherons  were  imported  into  New  Jersey  in 
1839  and  later,  but  it  was  with  the  importation 
in  1851  of  Louis  Napoleon  into  Union  County, 
Ohio,  by  Charles  Fullington  and  Erastus  Mar- 
tin that  the  importation  and  breeding  of  Perche- 
ron  horses  into  this  country  really  had  its  incep- 
tion as  a  business.  This  celebrated  stallion, 
Louis  Napoleon,  weighed  about  1,600  Ibs.  at  his 
best,  and  after  his  purchase  by  the  Dillons  and 
removal  to  McLean  county,  Illinois,  began  the 
movement  which  has  placed  the  Prairie  State 
in  the  very  front  rank  among  the  common- 
wealths in  which  draft  horses  are  produced. 
From  the  time  of  Louis  Napoleon  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Percheron  breeding  industry  has 
been  easy  and  rapid.  Matters  of  recent  occur- 
rence need  not  be  detailed  here. 

From  the  very  first  the  Percheron  has  been 
the  favorite  drafter  of  the  American  people. 
There  are  probably  three  times  as  many  Perche- 
rons in  the  country  today  as  there  are  of  any 
other  one  draft  breed.  The  technical  charges 

which  have  been  made  against  the  Percheron 
11 


162  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

are  chiefly  that  his  bone  is  light,  his  pasterns 
short  and  his  rump  sloping.  The  popular  verdict 
is  that  whatever  the  size  of  his  bone  or  the 
length  or  angle  of  his  pasterns,  his  grades  last 
longer  on  the  streets  of  the  cities  than  those  of 
any  other  breed.  Eight  or  wrong,  the  American 
people  have  declared  in  favor  of  the  draft  horse 
which  can  get  up  and  go,  and  gauging  the  matter 
from  the  demands  of  the  market,  the  Percheron 
best  fills  this  and  all  other  bills.  Another  point 
in  their  favor  is  the  gray  color.  While  all  colors 
are  to  be  found  in  the  breed,  grays  were  for 
half  a  century  or  more  the  most  popular.  Then 
came  a  craze  for  blacks;  but  there  never  was 
any  good  reason  for  this,  seeing  that  black  is  the 
least  popular  color  in  the  market-place.  The 
breed  in  this  country  has,  however,  staid  quite 
largely  gray— fortunately — and  the  gray  stal- 
lion is  now  coming  back  into  his  own.  Dealers 
tell  me  that  they  will  pay  as  high  sometimes  as 
$20  in  the  hundred  for  gray  geldings  more  than 
they  will  pay  for  other  colors,  which  supplies  a 
cogent  reason  why  farmers  should  strive  to 
breed  grays.  Though  a  little  more  than  half  a 
century  ago  the  Percheron  was  not  a  large  horse 
there  has  never  been  any  trouble  about  the  size 
of  his  get.  Today  they  are  as  large  as  any  that 
reach  the  sales  ring,  and  they  always  have  been. 
The  Percheron  has  been  greatly  aided  no 
doubt  in  its  upward  course  by  numbering  among 
its  supporters  many  of  the  monumental  charac- 


THE  PERCHERON.  163 

ters  in  the  American  horse  business.  At  that 
sufficient  time  has  elapsed  since  the  importing 
business  began  for  the  breed  to  find  its  proper 
level.  That  it  enjoys  its  present  popularity 
must  be  attributed  solely  to  its  suitability  to  the 
needs  and  desires  of  the  American  people. 

Typically  the  Percheron  is  a  horse  of  some 
range,  not  squatty  or  chunky.  He  has  a  top  line 
which  differs  from  that  of  most  other  breeds  in 
that  correctly  it  is  somewhat  higher  just  back  of 
the  coupling  and  between  the  points  of  the  hip- 
bones. This,  of  course,  accentuates  any  low- 
ness  of  the  back  or  droop  of  the  quarters  that 
may  be  present.  He  has  good  width,  his  ribs 
well  sprung  out  from  the  back  bone  and  rounded 
like  a  barrel,  but  his  quarters  should  not  be 
bagged  out  like  the  hams  of  a  Poland^C'hina 
hog.  Instead  they  should  have  a  flowing  round- 
ed contour  indicative  of  promptitude  of  move- 
ment as  well  as  strength.  The  neck  should  be 
well  arched,  not  coarse,  and  well  set  up,  topped 
off  with  a  head  that  appears  rather  small  for  the 
size  of  the  horse.  Short  stubby  necks  and  heavy 
sour  heads  are  not  typical  of  the  breed.  The 
bone  often  appears  light,  judged  by  the  stand- 
ard of  some  other  breeds,  but  it  is  of  the  stuff 
that  wears,  as  has  been  proved  on  the  streets. 
The  pasterns  are  not  long.  Coupled  with  this 
sort  of  conformation  there  is  in  the  typical 
Percheron  a  breezy  gaity  of  motion  and  an  air 
of  elegance  characteristic  of  no  other  breed. 


164  THE  HOUSE  BOOK. 

THE  OTHER  FEENCH  BEEEDS. 

Eecognized  by  the  French  government  as  a 
pure  breed  the  Boulonnais  has  its  home  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  town  of  Boulogne,  which  is 
situated  on  the  northern  coast  of  France  and 
just  across  the  English  channel  from  Britain. 
While  partaking  quite  largely  of  the  type  of 
French  draft  horse  exemplified  by  the  Perche- 
ron,  it  is  undoubted,  from  the  evidence  of  our 
eyes,  either  that  some  English  blood  has  been 
injected  into  the  race  or  that  the  conditions  on 
the  two  sides  of  the  narrow  channel  of  salt  water 
have  tended  toward  the  production  of  similar 
characteristics  in  the  French  and  British  stocks. 
White  markings  and  colors  in  which  the  foxy  red 
is  more  or  less  prominent  are  much  more  com- 
mon among  the  -  Boulonnais  than  among  the 
Percherons.  Iron  grays  and  roans  are  common, 
bays,  browns  and  chestnuts,  also,  together  with 
white  stockings  behind  and  white  blazes.  The 
Boulonnais  probably  averages  larger  than  the 
Percheron,  shows  a  great  amount  of  bone  but 
possesses  less  breed  character  or  type. 

Nivernais  horses  are  pre-eminently  like  the 
Percheron,  which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  see- 
ing that  the  race  is  being  improved  by  the  use  of 
Percheron  stallions.  The  color  is  black  and  all 
black.  In  a  catalogue  of  the  Great  Central  Show 
of  Paris  now  at  my  hand,  black  Nivernais  horses 
and  mares  alone  are  listed.  A  rather  short  back 
rib,  light  flank,  and  a  tendency  to  undue  length 


THE  OTHER  FRENCH  BREEDS.  165 

of  back  are  alleged  to  be  undesirable  character- 
istics of  this  strain  so  far  as  it  has  been  devel- 
oped, but  I  am  free  to  say  that  the  few  speci- 
mens I  have  seen  in  this  country  could  not  be 
faulted  greatly,  if  at  all,  in  this  way. 

In  Brittany  betterment  of  the  horse  stock  was 
long  delayed  and  the  French  government  has 
done  its  utmost  to  promote  improvement  in  con- 
formation and  value  by  acquiescing  in  the' use 
of  almost  any  kind  of  a  pure-bred  draft  stallion. 
The  show  catalogue  referred  to  discloses  that 
the  Bretonnais  horses  are  mixtures  of  Perche- 
ron,  Boulonnais  and  other  sorts  with  the  native 
Breton  stock  in  all  sorts  of  combinations,  and 
the  variegated  color  scheme  of  the  breed  indi- 
cates that  no  attempt  has  been  made  at  uniform- 
ity in  this  direction. 

Ardennais  horses  are  not  heavy  except  in  so 
far  as  they  have  been  made  so  of  later  years 
by  the  use  of  Belgian  draft  stallions.  Properly 
speaking  the  Ardennais  is  a  horse  of  the  heavy 
artillery  type  and  was  pointedly  eulogized  by 
Napoleon  for  the  endurance  displayed  in  his  dis- 
astrous Eussian  campaign.  Of  later  years,  how- 
ever, much  size  has  been  injected  into  the  breed 
and  many  Ardennais  horses  have  come  to  this 
country  as  Belgians.  The  Ardennes  country,  in 
which  they  are  bred,  is  a  hilly,  poor  region,  in 
which  size  can  only  be  maintained  by  the  closest 
artificial  selection  and  high  feeding.  It  bor- 
ders both  France  and  Belgium  and  the  Grand- 


166  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

duchy  of  Luxembourg,  and  its  horses  are  typ- 
ically harder  in  their  legs  than  the  true  Belgians 
bred  on  lower  ground.  They  run  more  to  white 
markings  than  the  true  Belgians,  and  more  to 
1 1  hard  colors '  '•  —bright  bays  and  chestnuts.  An 
Ardennais  horse  may  perhaps  best  be  described 
as  a  Belgian  draft  horse  with  a  bit  of  Clydes- 
dale quality  of  legs  and  levelness  of  top  injected 
into  him.  They  are  recorded  in  the  Belgian 
Draft  Horse  Stud  Book,  and  come  to  this  coun- 
try with  certificates  therefrom. 

THE  BELGIAN. 

Bred  nearest  the  f ountainhead  of  all  our  draft 
breeds  and  amid  surroundings  which  favor 
grossness  in  horseflesh,  the  Belgian  is  indubit- 
ably the  largest  heavy  draft  horse  of  the  present 
day.  The  Belgian  government  has  spent  a  lot  of 
money  trying  by  inspection  and  subsidy,  largely 
after  the  French  pattern,  to  improve  the  breed 
and  it  has  succeeded  in  large  measure.  I  remem- 
ber Belgian  work  horses  that  were  imported  in- 
to Scotland  to  do  contracting  work  some  thirty 
years  ago  or  more,  and  a  worse  lot  could  hardly 
be  imagined.  They  had  the  crookedest  toplines 
of  any  horses  I  have  ever  seen,  short  necks,  big 
sour  heads  and  sickle  hocks.  These,  however, 
could  not  fairly  be  esteemed  high-class  speci- 
mens, for  the  reason  that  with  freight  charges 
by  sea  and  land  they  could  be  laid  down  in  the 
Scottish  capital  and  other  cities  for  less  money 


THE   BELGIAN.  167 

than  English  or  Scotch  cart  horses  of  equal 
size  and  strength  would  cost.  However,  it  is 
well  known  that  until  the  government  seriously 
took  up  the  business  of  ameliorating  the  breed, 
the  faults  named  were  very  general  among  the 
draft  horses  of  Belgium. 

Comparing  the  stallions  and  mares  of  the 
.breed  to  be  seen  in  America  today  with  those 
horses  of  my  earlier  recollections,  a  great  work 
of  improvement  has  been  done,  but  there  is  still 
a  marked  lack  of  levelness  of  conformation  in 
the  breed  as  a  whole,  though  the  type  is  plainly 
enough  fixed.  The  short  neck  and  the  heavy 
head  are  all  too  often  in  evidence,  but  are  yield- 
ing to  the  efforts  of  the  breeders  to  correct  these 
faults.  Increasing  straightness  of  topline  is 
visible,  but  the  drooping  rump  is  still  a  breed 
characteristic.  Of  very  short  legs,  with  plenty 
of  bone  and  with  a  body  of  enormous  width 
and  most  excellent  action  at  the  trot,  the  Belgian 
has  proved  very  valuable  in  this  country  to  mate 
with  loosely  coupled,  gangling  mares  and  has 
probably  done  better  with  that  sort  than  any 
other  breed. 

Beared  on  low  land,  eminently  suitable  for  the 
production  of  gross  horses,  the  Belgian  has  lit- 
tle to  do  from  foalhood  upward  but  to  eat  and 
grow.  He  is  for  the  most  part  reared  on  soft 
feed  and  green  grass  and  in  the  constant  com- 
panionship of  man,  so  that  he  is  the  most  docile 
horse  on  earth  in  addition  to  being  the  largest. 


168  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

It  is  undoubted  that  in  this  country  he  is  the 
most  easily  kept  stallion,  makes  the  least  fuss 
and  gives  the  least  trouble.  He  has  not,  how- 
ever, had  due  credit  for  all  he  has  done.  Bred 
for  the  most  part  to  mares  of  Percheron  blood 
the  best  of  his  grades  have  gone  into  the  auction 
ring  as  Percherons  or  '  i  Normans, ' '  and  it  is 
only  occasionally  that  full  credit  is  given.  This 
may  or  may  not  have  been  unfortunate  of  course, 
but  geldings  of  undoubted  Belgian  type  are  now 
to  be  seen  on  the  city  streets  and  once  in  a  while 
in  the  show  ring.  This  shows  that  while  the 
Belgian,  the  importation  of  which  in  anything 
like  large  numbers  is  of  comparatively  recent 
beginning,  has  made  a  place  for  himself  in  our 
equine  economy.  Furthermore  the  instances  of 
big  geldings  by  Belgian  stallions  having  brought 
very  long  prices  are  so  frequent  now  as  to  prove 
conclusively  that  when  properly  mated  the  use 
of  the  Belgian  is  very  confidently  to  be  recom- 
mended. They  ship  better  across  the  ocean  than 
any  other  breed  and  acclimate  more  readily. 

Belgian  horses  come  in  almost  all  colors,  but 
the  most  general  are  chestnut  and  roan.  Bays 
and  browns  are  also  common  and  black  and 
gray  are  occasionally  met  with  in  the  breed. 
The  red-roan  and  the  chestnut  are  apparently 
the  hues  most  favored  by  the  Belgian  breeders. 

Of  late  years  prices  of  pedigreed  Belgian  stal- 
lions and  mares  have  advanced  sharply.  There 
is  a  great  demand  for  breeding  horses  in  Bel- 


THE  BELGIAN.  169 

gium  not  only  from  American  buyers  but  from 
the  Germans  as  well  and  the  latter  seem  to  be 
willing  to  spend  more  money  for  what  they 
want  than  our  importing  trade  will  stand.  Ow- 
ing to  the  efforts  being  made  by  the  government 
to  encourage  the  improvement  of  the  breed,  the 
keeping  of  a  popular  stallion  is  a  most  profita- 
ble business  and  therefore  there  is  comparative- 
ly little  incentive  to  sell  for  export.  Not  only 
this,  but  when  a  stallion  obtains  government  ap- 
proval and  subsidy  he  has  to  do  a  season  of  so 
many  mares  before  his  owner  can  lay  hands  on 
the  money.  This  insures  the  retention  of  a  good 
stallion  in  the  country  for  at  least  one  season. 
Moreover  the  subsidies  are  liberal  and  there- 
fore prices  are  high. 

Importation  of  Belgian  mares  has  not  been 
extensive  owing  to  the  high  prices  prevailing 
for  them.  They  are  mostly  in  the  hands  of 
farmers  who  own  but  a  few  at  the  most,  and  the 
prices  obtainable  for  their  colts  suggest  to  their 
owners  that  it  is  unwise  to  part  with  them 
unless  handsome  prices  are  forthcoming  for 
them.  The  breed  is  not  numerically  large, 
and  the  high  values  have  prevented  our  import- 
ers bringing  over  as  many  mares  as  the  trade 
here  would  have  absorbed  if  they  could  have 
been  obtained  on  a  lower  level.  However,  quite 
an  improvement  is  visible  of  late  in  this  regard 
this  season,  and  the  breeding  of  Belgians  in  the 
United  States  is  therefore  likely  to  be  placed  on 


170  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

a  broader  basis.  The  few  importers  who 
brought  over  mares  in  an  earlier  day  have  suc- 
ceeded in  breeding  some  very  creditable  ani- 
mals. 

THE  BEITISH  GEOUP. 

Characteristic  of  two  of  the  three  British 
draft  breeds  is  the  long  hair  or  feather  on  the 
legs.  This,  it  may  be  said,  is  common  in  greater 
or  less  degree  to  all  horses  reared  in  low-lying 
lands  for  generations  and  once  fixed  as  a  char- 
acteristic persists  tenaciously  despite  trans- 
plantation to  higher  ground  and  crossing  with 
smooth-legged  stock.  Regarding  the  general 
appearance  and  'size  of  the  English  horses  in 
Saxon  times  authorities  seem  to  differ,  but 
there  is  little  doubt  that  some  improvement 
took  place  after  the  Norman  conquest  in  1066. 
It  is  highly,  probable  that  the  horses  of  the  fen 
country  in  England — Lincoln  and  Cambridge- 
partook  quite  largely  of  the  general  type  of  the 
horses  developed  in  northern  continental 
Europe  and  history  teaches  us  that  in  the  reign 
of  King  John  or  about  the  beginning  of  the 
thirteenth  century  and  thereafter  recourse  was 
freely  had  to  Flanders  for  stallions  to  mate 
with  the  British  mares.  An  evidence  of  this  is 
provided  in  the  fact  that  at  one  time  the  pre- 
vailing color  of  the  heaviest  horses  in  England 
was  black. 

It  is  altogether  probable,  however,  that  the 


THE   BRITISH   GEOUP.  171 

British  people  have  played  more  or  less  of  a 
lone  hand  in  the  evolving  of  their  draft  breeds 
— as  they  have  in  the  other  branches  of  live 
stock  husbandry.  So  wherever  they  reached  out 
for  materials  in  the  early  day,  whether  to  Flan- 
ders only  or  to  other  places  as  well,  the  English- 
men and  Scotchmen  may  fairly  be  said  to  have 
made  their  breeds  what  they  wanted  them  to  be 
without  very  much  outside  assistance  one  way  or 
another.  If  a  proof  of  this  is  required  further 
it  may  be  suggested  that  while  almost  all  of 
the  other  breeds  claiming  descent  from  the 
black  horse  of  Flanders  are  of  blacky  gray  or 
mixed  colors,  without  white  marks,  as  a  general 
rule,  these  same  colors  are  now  and  have  for 
long  been  at  a  discount  both  in  frequency  and 
favor  in  John  Bull's  island.  Still  the  fact  re- 
mains that  many  Flanders  stallions  were  used 
in  Britain  and  not  ouch  more  than  a  century 
and  a  half  ago  at  that.  All  colors  are  found  in 
both  the  Shire  and  the  Clydesdale,  but  the  bays, 
browns  and  blacks  predominate.  The  Suffolks 
are  a  race  of  chestnuts  only. 

Endless  controversy  has  raged  regarding  the 
origin  of  the  white  markings  on  the  Clydes- 
dale and  Shire.  That  they  are  deeply  ingrained 
in  these  breeds  must  be  conceded  and  that  the 
British  breeders  seem  to  favor  them  admits  of 
no  doubt.  This  is  decidedly  unfortunate  so  far 
as  the  American  trade  is  concerned,  and  not 
only  the  North  American  but  the  South  Amer- 


172  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

lean  trade  as  well.  It  would  serve  no  good  pur- 
pose to  enter  into  the  merits  of  this  controversy. 
The  fact  remains  that  the  white  seems  to  be  on 
the  increase  and  so  far  as  this  country  is  con- 
cerned this  is  all  the  more  to  be  regretted.  If 
the  breeders  of  Britain  desire  to  cater  to  the 
trade  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  they 
should  breed  more  whole-colored  horses.  There 
is  no  doubt  of  this.  We  do  not  like  them  all 
splashed  up  with  white,  head,  legs  and  belly. 

Starting  obviously  from  approximately  the 
same  foundation  the  breeders  of  the  Shire  and 
Clydesdale,  despite  cross  infusions  back  and 
forth  at  times,  which  in  contiguous  countries 
can  not  be  avoided,  have  succeeded  in  evolving 
two  types  which  differ  quite  noticeably  in  the 
main  one  from  the  -other.  It  is  not  always  pos- 
sible to  pick  out  Shires  from  Clydesdales  or 
vice  versa,  but  taking  the  breeds  as  a  whole 
they  are  quite  distinct.  The  only  good  reason 
which  can  be  assigned  for  this  is  the  individual 
preference  of  the  breeders  or,  if  you  please,  the 
fashion.  It  can  not  be  the  environment,  because 
you  can  find  in  Scotland  Clydesdales  that  look 
like  Shires  and  in  England  Shires  that  look  like 
Clydesdales,  but  neither  is  in  favor  in  his  native 
land.  • 

One  thing,  however,  the  breeders  in  both 
kingdoms  have  done — they  have  developed  the 
walk  to  a  marvelous  extent  and  a  straightness 
and  trueness  of  action  at  the  trot  which  is  not 


I    UNIVERSITY   ) 

Of 


THE    CLYDESDALE.  173 

surpassed,  if  it  is  equalled,  in  any  other  breed. 
The  long,  clean,  swinging  stride  of  the  British 
drafter,  trudging  along  with  a  great  load  be- 
hind him,  is  the  perfection  of  locomotion  under 
such  circumstances.  How  the  breeds  differ  we 
shall  see  in  the  following  pages. 

Unlike  the  nations  of  continental  Europe, 
Great  Britain  extends  no  governmental  aid  of 
any  kind  to  her  breeders  of  draft  horses.  She 
pays  no  subsidies  and  -she  makes  no  inspections. 
Every  breeder  does  as  he  pleases  irrespective 
of  his  neighbor.  Thus  the  three  British  draft 
breeds  are  the  result  solely  of  personal  en- 
deavor, undirected  by  any  superior  power.  The 
uniformity  of  type  which  we  see  in  each  of  them 
is  little  short  of  marvelous  and,  I  venture  to 
say,  an  achievement  possible  only  in  the  Tight 
Little  Isle. 

THE  CLYDESDALE. 

It  would  obviously  be  beyond  the  mark  to 
claim  that  in  an  island  so  small  as  that  which 
contains  England  and  Scotland  there  has  not 
always  been  a  more  or  less  free  interchange  of 
equine  stock.  Somewhat  mythical  accounts  have 
come  down  about  various  attempts  having  been 
made  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury to  improve  the  native  Scotch  heavy  horses 
in  a  sort  of  wholesale  manner,  but  there  is  no 
very  accurate  description  of  that  breed  to  be 
obtained.  We  may  therefore  safely  conclude 


174  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

that  it  did  not  differ  materially  from  that  of 
England.  A  starting  point  is,  however,  fur- 
nished us.  In  1750  John  Patterson  of  Loch- 
lyoch  imported  from  England  into  Scotland  a 
black  Flemish  stallion.  To  this  horse  may  be 
traced  in  lineal  ascent,  through  the  celebrated 
sire  Glancer,  alias  Thompson's  Black  Horse, 
most  of  the  best  Clydesdales  now  living.  Barely 
does  it  happen  that  only  one  breeder  makes  a 
move  of  this  kind,  and  though  we  have  no  such 
positive  evidence  as  in  the  case  of  the  Lochlyoch 
Flemish  stallion,  we  may  fairly  assume  that 
others  were  brought  into  Scotland  about  the 
same  time.  So  to  the  black  Flemish  ,blood  in- 
troduced about  160  years  ago  into  North 
Britain  we  may  trace  the  real  improvement  of 
the  Clydesdale. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
many  of  the  breed  were  grays.  The  famous 
Broomfield  Champion  was  out  of  a  gray  mare. 
In  spite  of  its  prevalence  the  gray  color  was 
distasteful  to  the  Scotch,  and  before  the  cen- 
tury had  reached  one-third  of  its  growth,  steps 
were  taken  to  promote  the  production  of  the 
"hard"  colors.  In  this  endeavor  the  Highland 
&  Agricultural  Society  along  in  1829  offered 
prizes  for  dark  bay  <and  brown  horses,  barring 
the  grays  from  competition.  The  gray  color 
has  persisted  in  small  degree,  however,  though 
it  is  no  better  liked  today  in  Caledonia -than  it 
was  then. 


THE    CLYDESDALE.  175 

It  was  in  1856  that  the  first  Clydesdale  stal- 
lion was  imported  into  the  United  States  and 
that  one  came  from  'Canada.  We  have  no  evi- 
dence of  any  direct  importation  by  'ship  pre- 
vious to  that  date.  Since  that  time  the  breed 
has  numbered  among  its  supporters  some  of 
the  most  intelligent  men  ever  connected  with 
the  horse  business  in  any  capacity,  but  a  num- 
ber of  these  supports  have  been  lost  through 
death  or  retirement  in  recent  years.  Along  in 
the  late  eighties,  at  the  Columbian  and  even 
still  later  the  showing  of  the  Scottish  draft 
horse  was  second  to  none.  Success  crowned 
the  efforts  of  the  breeders  to  produce  the  type 
desired  by  the  Scotchmen  and  they  even  beat 
the  Scotch  at  their  own  game.  Col.  Eobert  Hol- 
loway,  Alexis,  111.,  bred  several  that  were  ex- 
ported to  Scotland  and  won  name  and  fame  in 
that  country.  It  is  also  freely  conceded  that 
•the  American  breeders  of  Clydesdales  have 
succeeded  in  producing  a  greater  number  of 
champions  and  prize-winning  young  things  in 
the  free-for-all  competitions  at  our  great  shows 
than  have  the  breeders  of  any  other  sort.  So 
much  so  was  this  at  one  time  that  classes  had 
to  be  made  for  imported  mares  alone,  for  the 
reason  that  they  had  no  chance  to  defeat  the 
home-bred  females.  American  breeders  still 
•send  into  our  leading  show-yards  beautiful  ar- 
rays of  young  things,  true  to  type  and  excel- 
lently furnished,  but  in  the  market-place  the 


176  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

Clydesdale  gelding  holds  his  own  only  when 
class-able  at  the  very  top.  There  must  be  a 
reason  for  this  peculiar  status. 

Primarily  the  American  and  Scotch  trades 
demand  horses  of  different  stamps.  For  a  gen- 
eration the  chief  effort  of  the  Scotch  breeder 
appears  to  have  been  to  improve  the  length  and 
angle  of  the  pastern  and  the  quality  of  the 
bone  and  hair.  To  obtain  these  points  they 
have  admittedly  sacrificed  somewhat  the  size 
and  weight  and  ruggedness  of  their  horses. 
Knowing  the  preference  of  the  American  trade 
for  solid  colors  they  seem  to  have  courted, 
rather  than  avoided,  continued  encroachments 
of  white  upon  the  body  color.  In  short  they 
seem  to  have  had  eyes  for  little, but  "feet,  pas- 
tern and  feather."  That  they  have  succeeded 
in  obtaining  what  they  wanted  in  well-nigh  per- 
fect measure  can  not  be  denied,  but  in  gaining 
this  they  have  partially  lost  the  American  trade 
and  inf erentially  much  for  the  American  trader. 

We  can  but  note  this  fact  with  real  regret, 
because  the  ideal  Clydesdale  gelding  in  point 
of  action  and  conformation  is  truly  a  model 
and  a  pattern  for  the  world.  The  levelness  of 
top,  rotundity  of  barrel,  clean  bone,  well  set 
pastern,  prompt,  swinging  walk  with  the  iron 
showing  at  every  step,  and  the  sharp  trot,  with 
the  hocks  well  flexed  and  carried  close  together 
straight  beneath  the  body,  form  the  combina- 
tion for  which  the  judge  is  looking  and  to  which 
he  works. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THE    CLYDESDALE.  177 

In  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  separated  from 
the  United  States  only  by  water  or  an  intangi- 
ble boundary  line,  which  is  far  from  straight, 
the  Clydesdale  is  the  pre-eminent  drafter.  For 
more  than  half  a  century  he  has  thriven  and 
multiplied  and  made  money  for  his  users.  After 
trial  of  that  length  of  time  he  still  repels  in- 
vasions of  the  other  breeds,  as  he  has  repelled 
them  since  his  advent  into  the  country  of  the 
beaver.  Magnificent  pairs  of  home-bred  Clydes- 
dale geldings  may  be  seen  in  Toronto,  Ottawa, 
Montreal  and  elsewhere,  pairs  that  are  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  pure-bred  and  which  have 
left  a  profit  from  the  first  hands  to  the  last. 
Dotted  over  the  Dominion  are  the  Clydesdale 
studs  all  the  way  from  Edmonton  to  Quebec, 
and  there  are  no  shrewder,  more  representa- 
tive or  broader-minded  men  than  their  own- 
ers. But  the  Canadians  are  a  nation  of  stock- 
men to  the  manner  born  and  this  may  have 
something  to  do  with  it.  Besides  the  Cana- 
dians are  much  more  in  sympathy  with  old 
country  ideas  and  methods  than  we  are,  which 
after  all  is  only  natural. 

British  breeders,  however,  owe  the  interest 
in  the  United  States  some  measure  of  co-opera- 
tion at  least.  If  they  would  face  about  and  give 
us  the  big  brawny  ciean-Iegged  sort  that  could 
be  named  as  heroes  of  a  former  day  when  the 
Clydesdale  was  in  his  glory  here,  we  would 

gladly  pay  the  price  and  the  benefit  to  the  breed 
12 


178  THE    CLYDESDALE. 

here  would  qnickly  become  apparent.  It  never 
was  a  numerous  breed,  and  perforce  of  circum- 
stances never  can  become  in  Scotland  much 
more  numerous  than  it  is  just  now,  but  there  is 
limitless  room  for  its  expansion  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic.  It  will  not  expand  greatly, 
however,  until  the  Scottish  breeders  add  more 
top,  more  neck,  more  ruggedness  generally  and 
eliminate  the  white.  It  would  serve  a  good  end 
if  the  Highland  &  Agricultural  Society  would, 
in  this  day  of  grace,  do  with  the  splashed-up 
kind  as  it  did  in  1829  with  the  grays  and  bar 
them  altogether. 

The  supporters  of  every  continental  breed  of 
drafter  now  common  in  this  country  have  re- 
ceived the  most  hearty  co-operation  from  the 
old-world  breeders  and  their  success  has  been 
commensurate  therewith.  What  they  desired 
they  received.  Instead  of  extending  co-opera- 
tion the  Scottish  breeders  have  gone  their  own 
road,  concerning  themselves  with  their  own  pe- 
culiar ideas.  This  policy  of  splendid  isolation 
may  be  a  great  thing  for  Britain  as  a  whole,  but 
it  has  dealt  a  grievous  blow  to  the  Clydesdale 
interest  in  this  country. 

THE  SHIEE. 

It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  Shire 
traces  back  to  the  fountainhead  of  the  black 
horse  of  Flanders,  but  whether  in  the  main  he 
owes  his  bulk  to  that  strain  of  blood  is  quite 


THE  SHIRE.  179 

another  question.  Certain  it  is  that  none  of  the 
other  breeds  of  live  stock  developed  in  England 
owes  its  scale  to  any  extraneous  blood.  It 
would  be  strange  indeed  if  the  Shire  alone  of 
all  the  British  breeds  should  owe  his  size  to  an 
alien  cross.  In  'the  rich  fen  lands  of  Lincoln 
and  -Cambridge  as  great  bulk  may  be  produced 
as  on  any  other  spot  in  the  world.  There  is  no 
way  of  proving  it,  of  course,  but  reasoning  by 
analogy  it  is  altogether  probable  that  a  breed 
of  drafters  would  have  been  developed  on  these 
fen  lands  quite  as  large  as  the  present  Shire  if 
there  never  had  been  a  Flemish  horse  at  all. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Shire  is  just  what  the 
Englishman  wants  him  to  be.  He  is  markedly 
different,  as  already  pointed  out,  from  any  of 
the  other  offshoots  of  the  parent  stock. 

From  the  American  angle  it  is  hard  to  say 
why  the  English  breeders  have  developed  the 
type  just  as  they  have.  They  have  certainly 
not  developed  it  in  accordance  with  American 
preferences.  Characteristic  of  the  present-day 
Shire  are  great  bulk,  strong  bone,  a  tremendous 
amount  of  hair  about  the  legs,  far  too  much 
white  and  in  many  instances  a  paucity  of  neck 
that  to  an  American  eye  approaches  deformity. 
A  tendency  to  heaviness  in  the  head  is  also  no- 
ticeable, but  whether  this  is  actually  due  to  lack 
of  proportion,  or  whether  it  merely  seems  to  be 
on  account  of  our  liking  for  a  well  risen  crest, 
it  is  hard  to  say.  Nor  does  it  matter.  The 


180  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

Englishman  seems  to  care  little  for  a  fine  crest. 
The  difficulty,  however,  which  most  Shires  ex- 
perience in  getting  into  their  collars  would  indi- 
cate that  the  heaviness  of  the  head  is  a  condi- 
tion and  not  a  mere  appearance. 

From  the  American  angle,  again  it  passes  be- 
lief why  any  one  should  prefer  a  horse  whose 
four  legs  are  burdened  with  great  mops  of  hair 
and  discard  those  of  equal  bone  and  less 
feather.  Again  why  so  many  of  the  winners 
should  have  such  splotches  of  white  upon  them 
is  something  which  the  American  mind  can  not 
discern.  White  markings  not  only  persist,  but 
tend  to  spread  from  generation  to  generation 
and  they  are  spreading.  It  does  not  seem  to 
make  much  difference  in  England  whether 
America  wants  a  whole-colored  horse  or  not. 
No  spirit  of  co-operation  in  this  regard  has 
been  manifested  and  the  Shire  interest  in  this 
country  >shows  the  effects  of  it. 

It  was  not  always  so.  There  was  a  time  when 
the  Shire  was  a  popular  horse  in  this  country. 
He  is  so  still,  but  he  does  not  cover  -the  ground 
he  once  did.  There  is  little  doubt  that  English 
Draft  horses,  as  they  were  called  in  those  days, 
were  imported  into  the  eastern  United  States 
a  very  long  -time  ago.  Tradition  tells  of  a 
strain  of  horses  called  the  John  Bulls  in  Penn- 
sylvania which  were  indubitably  descended 
from  imported  English  stock  and  some  of  these 
found  their  way  as  far  west  as  Illinois  during 


THE  SHIKE.  181 

the  early  settlement  of  that  state.  George  E. 
Brown,  who  went  to  some  length  to  trace  this 
migration,  told  me  that  he  remembered  the 
s-train  in  the  East  in  an  early  day  and  that  it 
was  possessed  of  rare  excellence.  The  general 
importation  of  the  Shire,  nevertheless,  does  not 
date  back  more  than  thirty-five  or  forty  years 
and  'there  have  been  times  when  many  more 
were  imported  than  are  coming  across  the  ocean 
now. 

In  his  best  estate  the  Shire  is  a  magnificent 
drafter.  He  has  begotten  a  vast  number  of 
high-priced  geldings  from  -the  native^  stock.  It 
is  of  record  that  the  highest  price  ever  bid  for 
a  gelding  in  the  Chicago  market — $660 — was 
bid  for  a  red-roan  of  this  breeding.  Bulk  and 
strength,  depth  of  flank  and  rib  and  plenitude 
of  bone  are  pre-eminently  attributes  of  the 
Shire.  These  are  qualities  which  we  require  in 
the  grading  up  process  and  there  is  no  question 
that  many  of  the  best  geldings  ever  got  by 
French  stallions  'have  been  out  of  mares  of 
English  blood.  It  has  been  claimed  for  the 
breed  that  grading  up  may  be  accomplished  to 
greater  size  with  the  Shire  more  quickly  than 
with  any  other  sort  and  the  writer  believes 
this  to  be  correct.  Mares  carrying  from  one  to 
three  crosses  of  Shire  blood  are  now  perhaps 
as  valuable  stock  as  may  be  found  on  American 
farms,  and  their  foals  command  the  highest 
prices,  no  matter  to  what  breed  of  drafter  the 


182  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

sire  may  belong.  In  short  the  grade  Shire 
mare  seems  to  assimilate  readily  with  what- 
ever stallion  she  may  be  coupled,  handing  on 
her  own  bulk  and  strength  and  in  this  regard  I 
count  her  especially  valuable.  Everybody  likes 
a  good  Shire  gelding.  His  massive  proportions, 
strong  back,  wide,  well  sprung  ribs,  long, 
straight  stride  and  generally  powerful  appear- 
ance commend  him  to  all.  In  the  higher  crosses 
the  mass  of  hair  about  the  shanks  is  indubitably 
a  detriment,  which  is  but  one  further  proof  that 
the  interest  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  is  suffering 
from  'the  disregard  of  its  needs  displayed  by 
the  English  breeders.  The  care  of  the  legs  of 
a  Shire  in  this  land  of  black  gumbo  soil  and 
intense  heat  is  assuredly  one  of  the  handicaps 
under  which  the  breed  strives  to  make  head- 
way. 

Still  despite  this  drawback,  and  the  further 
one  supplied  by  his  often  too  straight  pasterns, 
the  elements  of  success  in  the  betterment  of  our 
draft  stocks  inheres  deeply  in  the  Shire.  His 
prepotency  is  acknowledged,  his  showing  in  the 
market  place,  numbers  considered,  is  adequate. 
He  has  suffered  undoubtedly  from  the  very  fact 
that  his  grade  mares  produce  so  admirably  to 
stallions  of  other  breeds.  That  many  of  them 
have  been  crossed  out  of  their  breed  continu- 
ously, making  for  'the  glory  and  renown  of  oth- 
ers, is  well  known.  His  numbers  are  not  great 
in  this  country  actually  or  relatively.  He  has 


' "OF  THE 
M.IVERSITY 

CF 


THE  SUFFOLK. 


183 


never  been  the  favorite  of  the  rich  fancier  nor 
has  he  ever  enjoyed  the  patronage  of  any  of 
the  monumental  characters  in  the  breeding  busi- 
ness, though  his  destiny  has-  been  guided  by 
some  very  shrewd  men,  yet  he  has  made  good 
for  many  a  poor  man. 

THE  SUFFOLK. 

Peculiar  to  the  eastern  counties  of  England 
in  general  and  the  county  of  Suffolk  in  partic- 
ular is  the  third  of  the  British  draft  breeds— 
the  Suffolk,  one  of  the  most  distinctive  types 
of  the  drafter  known.  It  enjoys  the  unique  dis- 
tinction of  having  but  the  one  color — chestnut. 
This  varies  throughout  all  the  different  shades 
of  that  generic  hue  from  the  dark  liver  to  the 
bright  golden  sorrel,  with  the  most  general 
shade  the  medium  sorrel,  as  we  understand  the 
term  in  this  country.  Here  and  there  white 
markings  are  met  with,  but  more  rarely  now 
than  formerly,  the  white  being  deemed  objec- 
tionable by  'the  British  breeders.  Unlike  the 
other  two  breeds  of  drafters  in  Britain  the  Suf- 
folk has  a  very  clean  leg  with  no  more  hair 
about  it  than  the  Percheron. 

Regarding  the  origin  of  the  Suffolk  investi- 
gators seem  to  have  agreed  that  in  its  present 
habitat  there  practically  always  has  been  a  race 
of  chestnut  horses.  At  least  it  was  there  back 
in  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
it  does  not  appear  that  any  infusion  of  foreign 


184  THE  HOKSE  BOOK. 

or  other  alien  blood  has  ever  been  made.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  clean  leg  and  characteristic 
conformation  were  never  brought  about  by 
crossing  with  French  stallions.  What  the  breed 
is  today  is  solely  the  result  of  another  lone 
very  small  territory  to  which  this  breed  seems 
to  have  been  indigenous.  The  chestnut  color  is 
readily  transmitted  to  the  Suffolk's  grades  and 
I  have  seen  some  very  good  specimens  among 
them. 

It  is  doubtful  if  this  breed  has  ever  re- 
ceived in  the  United  States  the  recognition  to 
which  its  many  good  qualities  entitle  it.  This 
perhaps  is  accounted  for  in  the  fact  that  the 
color  is  not  a  popular  one  among  draft  horse 
breeders  generally,  and  from  the  personal  ex- 
perience of  the  writer  there  has  always  been 
some  sort  of  a  lurking  suspicion  in  the  public 
mind  that  these  clean-legged,  heavy-quartered 
chestnuts  were  French  horses  of  some  sort 
masquerading  under  a  name  to  which  they  had 
no  right.  It  is  hard  to  persuade  some  folks  that 
the  very  hairy-legged  Shire  and  the  very 
smooth-legged  Suffolk  are  bred  in  the  same 
island.  Nevertheless  the  Suffolk  can  trace  his 
lineage  back  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  and  beyond  in  an  absolutely  unbroken 
line. 

Insofar  as  they  have  been  given  a  trial  here 
they  have  made  good.  The  individuals  do  not 


THE  SUFFOLK.  185 

run  as  large  as  the  Shire  and  have  proved 
themselves  eminently  well  suited  for  crossing 
on  rather  small  mares,  on  the  ranch  and  else- 
where. Their  progeny  is  wonderfully  uniform 
and  they  make  most  excellent  workers.  It  is 
doubtful  if  there  is  in  the  entire  list  of  draft 
breeds  one  which  has  a  better  disposition  or 
greater  tractability.  In  their  native  land  it  is 
the  custom  of  their  drivers  to  break  these  horses 
to  work  entirely  without  reins.  In  the  plow,  on 
the  road,  in  the  show  ring,  you  may  see  them 
often  hitched  three  tandem  guided  by  one  man 
and  not  a  rein  in  sight.  For  simple  Endurance 
it  is  again  questionable  if  this  breed  is  sur- 
passed. In  that  part  of  England  where  they 
are  used  it  is  the  custom  to  hook  up  the  Suffolks 
as  early  in  the  morning  as  the  daylight  will  per- 
mit and  keep  them  plowing  continuously  until 
the  daylight  fades. 

It  is  on  account  of  their  docility  and  good 
tempers  that  the  Suffolks  are  sought  for  cross- 
ing on  range  mares.  In  addition  to  putting  neat 
bodies  on  their  foals,  arching  up  the  neck  and 
making  them  generally  desirable  in  point  of 
conformation,  the  Suffolk  stallions  almost  in- 
variably imbue  their  get  with  such  even  tem- 
pers that  the  breaking  process  is  comparatively 
simple.  On  account,  however,  of  the  clean  legs 
and  the  common  chestnut  color  the  foals  by  Suf- 
folk stallions  have  no  distinguishing  marks  and 
hence  are  swept  into  the  great  commercial 


186  THE  HOESE  BOOK. 

maelstrom  without  their  sires  obtaining  due 
credit  for  them.  Suffolks  are  being  bred  suc- 
cessfully in  a  number  of  the  states  and  a  ready 
market  is  found  for  the  surplus  annually,  while 
a  few  are  brought  from  England  each  year  both 
by  the  big  importers  and  by  private  individuals 
who  have  tested  the  breed  and  discovered  its 
real  merit. 

Properly  speaking  the  Suffolk  is  an  agricul- 
tural horse  rather  than  a  draft  horse.  He  is  in 
spots  and  places  large  enough  for  truck  work  in 
the  great  cities,  but  not  as  a  rule  is  he  used  in 
the  lorry  in  Britain.  Indubitably  his  size  is  in- 
creasing from  generation  to  generation  and  he 
is  in  the  hands  of  most  careful  breeders  who  are 
pushing  his  interests  in  a  most  intelligent  man- 
ner. The  Suffolk  is  worth  more  extended  at- 
tention by  American  breeders. 

THE  LIGHT  BREEDS— THE  THOROUGH- 
BRED. 

Every  improved  breed  of  light  horses  owes 
its  be'tterment  in  greater  or  lesser  degree  to  the 
Thoroughbred  or  running  race  horse.  This  is 
our  oldest  pure-breed,  the  inception  of  its  im- 
provement dating  well  back  into  the  seventeenth 
century.  Briefly  described  the  foundation  of 
the  modern  race  horse  was  laid  in  the  time  of 
the  second  Charles  of  England,  to  which  head- 
strong monarch,  whatever  else  may  be  said  of 
him,  are  due  the  thanks  of  all  humanity  for  the 


JfVR-AV 

OP  THE      "         \ 

VERSSTY    I 


THE     THOEOUGHBEED.  187 

good  he  did  in  the  encouragement  of  horse 
breeding.  This  foundation  consisted  in  cross- 
ing stallions  of  Barb  and  Arabian  blood  with 
the  native  English  mares  used  for  the  chase  and 
other  sports  where  speed  was  required.  East- 
ern mares,  known  as  the  Eoyal  mares  in  the 
Stud  Book,  were  presented  to  the  King  and 
from  this  quite  scanty  foundation  the  magnifi- 
cent Thoroughbred  superstructure  has  been 
raised. 

As  it  was  for  racing  purposes  that  improve- 
ment was  first  attempted  under  the  royal  aus- 
pices, so  it  has  been  for  the  increase  of  racing 
speed  that  the  breeders  have  worked  continu- 
ously during  all  these  years.  Training  for  the 
course  has  a  refining  effect  on  the  fibre  of  any 
horse.  Continued  high  feeding  on  food  that  is 
not  bulky  or  soothing  but  stimulating  to  the 
limit  makes  a  horse  nervous  and  cranky.  The 
Thoroughbred  type  is  well  enough  established, 
but  not  in  the  way  the  type  of  the  Suffolk  is,  for 
instance.  There  is  a  quality  about  the  race 
horSe  that  cannot  be  mistaken,  but  the  breed 
character  is  more  in  its  refinement  than  its  sim- 
ilarity of  conformation.  Here  you  will  see  a 
great  three-cornered,  camel-backed,  raw-boned 
racer  contending  with  a  short-legged,  almost 
cobby  foe,  the  two  utterly  dissimilar  in  outline, 
but  both  unmistakably  Thoroughbred.  Few 
breeders  have  ever  paid  any  attention  to  the 
conformation  of  the  race  horses  they  have  bred. 


188  THE   HOESE    BOOK. 

Speed  has  been  the  great  desideratum  and  size 
and  shape  have  been  allowed  to  take  care  of 
themselves. 

It  is  not  1ihe  intention  to  enter  here  into  any 
discussion  of  Thoroughbred  bloodlines  save  in 
one  instance.  Listening  to  men  talk  of  Thor- 
oughbred pedigrees  you  hear  them  refer  to  the 
lines  of  Herod,  Matchem  and  Eclipse.  There 
were  three  great  progenitors  of  speed  in  the 
early  day — all  of  eastern  origin.  The  Herod 
line  traces  in  male  ascent  to  the  Byerly  Turk, 
the  Matchem  line  to  the  Grodolphin  Arabian  and 
the  Eclipse  line  to  the  Barley  Arabian.  These 
are  the  three  great  Thoroughbred  strains.  Nor 
is  it  the  intention  to  discuss  racing  or  breeding 
for  race  horses  in  any  of  its  phases,  but  it  may 
be  noted  in  passing  that  the  age  of  every  race 
horse  dates  from  Jan.  1  of  the  year  in  which 
he  is  foaled.  Thus  if  a  colt  is  dropped  Jan.  1 
he  is  a  year  old  on  the  365th  day  after  he  was 
born.  On  the  other  hand  if  he  is  foaled  at  half- 
past  eleven  on  the  night  of  Dec.  31  he  is  a  year 
old  when  he  has  actually  lived  but  thirty  min- 
utes. This  applies  to  trotters  and  pacers  as 
well  as  Thoroughbreds. 

As  has  already  been  said,  the  influence  of  the 
Thoroughbred  has  been  felt  by  every  improved 
light  breed.  To  cross  in  with  the  race  horse 
was  the  easiest  and  quickest  way  to  inject  qual- 
ity, style,  speed  and  stamina.  Being  the  oldest 
breed,  with  a  stud  book  started  in  England  in 


THE     THOROUGHBRED. 

1791,  he  was  ready  to  the  hand  of  all  who  de- 
sired to  quicken  material  that  was  too  coarse 
and  too  'sluggish.  So  far  as  the  general  Amer- 
ican farmer  is  concerned  the  Thoroughbred  is 
a  good  thing  to  let  alone.  His  temperament  is 
ill  suited  to  the  drudgery  of  agriculture. 

To  the  Thoroughbred  may  be  accredited  all 
the  -different  coachers  in  greater  or  less  meas- 
ure, and  hunters,  polo  ponies  and  other  horses 
in  which  speed  and  stamina  are  required  are 
usually  his  direct  offspring.  All  colors  are  to 
be  seen  among  race  horses,  save  only  the  pie- 
bald and  skewbald.  Grays  are  very  rare  now 
and  so  are  roans,  while  blacks  are  not  nearly 
so  common  as  are  the  remaining  hues.  This 
leaves  the  most  of  the  present-day  Thorough- 
breds chestnut,  bay  and  brown.  White  mark- 
ings are  plentiful  and  keep  cropping  out  in  a 
most  bewildering  manner  when  the  race  horse 
is  used  to  cross  upon  cold-blooded  stock.  There 
is  seldom  any  uniformity  of  either  color  or  con- 
formation in  the  get  of  a  Thoroughbred  stal- 
lion. 

Though  he  played  such  an  important  part  in 
the  evolution  of  the  Thoroughbred  the  Arabian 
horse  is  not  now  of  much  account.  He  still  has 
his  admirers,  but  for  every  purpose  to  which  he 
can  accommodate  himself  the  Thoroughbred  is 
vastly  his  superior.  It  is  popularly  supposed 
that  the  spotted  circus  horses  are  of  Arabian 
origin.  This  is  a  mistake,  as  the  Arabian  is 


190  THE    HORSE    BOOK. 

one  of  the  breeds  in  which  a  spotted,  piebald  or 
skewbald  horse  has  never  been  known  to  exist. 
The  common  colors  are  gray,  bay  and  brown, 
with  a  few  chestnuts  and  once  in  a  while,  though 
very  seldom,  a  black.  The  Arab  is  a  small 
horse,  running  mostly  under  15  hands,  slight  of 
conformation,  very  fine  in  quality,  possessing 
undoubtedly  much  endurance  but  lacking  in 
speed.  As  a  sire  of  ladies'  saddle  horses  of 
small  stature  he  is  useful  and  some  polo  ponies 
have  been  bred  after  him,  but  giving  him  due 
credit  for  all  his  good  qualities  the  Arabian 
horse  is  a  most  unimportant  factor  in  modern 
horse  breeding.  He  has,  however,  some  devoted 
adherents. 

THE  STANDAED-BEED. 

Only  insofar  as  he  is  the  sire  of  the  modern 
roadster  can  the  standard-bred  horse  be  given 
consideration  here.  Harness  racing  and  breed- 
ing for  speed  are  entirely  beyond  the  purview 
of  this  work.  However,  as  most  of  the  success- 
ful sires  of  roadsters  belong  to  the  Hamble- 
tonian  strain  of  the  trotting  breed  it  will  be 
necessary  to  recount  briefly  how  the  breed  was 
formed. 

Messenger  was  a  gray  Thoroughbred  horse 
foaled  in  England  in  1780.  He  was  raced  and 
in  1788  was  imported  to  this  country,  landing 
at  Philadelphia.  He  begot  a  very  numerous 
progeny  of  horses  that  could  trot  and  died  in 


. 


I 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


I 


THE   STANDAKD-BKED.  191 

1808.  He  begot  a  son  called  Mambrino,  which 
in  turn  begot  a  son  called  Abdallah.  A  Norfolk 
trotter  named  Bellfounder  was  imported  in 
1823.  This  horse  is  numbered  55  in  Vol.  I  of 
the  English  Hackney  Stud  Book.  He  could  trot 
some  and  he  begot  a  mare  which  will  forever 
remain  famous  without  a  name.  Back  of  her 
were  two  generations  tracing  to  imp.  Messen- 
ger, and  she  is  known  as  the  Chas.  Kent  mare, 
her  owner  being  of  that  name — a  butcher  in 
New  York  City.  She  had  some  small  degree  of 
speed.  In  due  course  of  time  the  Kent  mare 
was  bred  to  Abdallah,  and  Bysdyk's  Hamble- 
tonian  (or  Hambletonian  10,  as  he  is  otherwise 
called)  was  the  result  of  that  union,  being 
dropped  May  5,  1849.  This  colt  developed  phe- 
nomenal speed  siring  ability  and  from  his  loins 
sprang  the  entire  family  which  now  dominates 
the  trotting  and  pacing  sections  of  the  breed. 

One  family,  however,  did  not  entirely  make 
the  trotter  and  pacer,  though  it  completely 
overshadows  all  others  in  it.  Mambrino  Pay- 
master, a  son  of  the  same  Mambrino  by  imp. 
Messenger,  which  begot  the  sire  of  Hamble- 
tonian, sired  Mambrino  Chief,  the  founder  of 
the  so-called  Mambrino  family.  The  Canadian 
Pilots  and  Eoyal  Georges,  the  Morgans,  the 
Champions  and  various  other  strains  were  in- 
corporated and  have  been  gradually  absorbed. 
From  time  to  time  infusions  of  the  Thorough-§ 
bred  have  been  injected  into  the  trotter,  directly 


192  THE   HOUSE   BOOK. 

in  some  instances,  indirectly  in  others,  and  the 
seemingly  endless  discussion  about  the  wisdom 
of  using  the  runner  to  breed  the  trotter  still 
prevails  even  unto  this  day.  It  is  a  subject  at 
most  only  prolific  of  argument  and  invective 
and  barren  of  result.  It  does  not  concern  us. 

Pacers  we  seem  always  to  have  had  with  us. 
The  historic  amble  of  the  riding,  palfrey  in 
mediaeval  times  was  transmuted  into  the  more 
decided  sidewheel  gait  on  American  soil,  where 
it  took  kindly  root,  and  from  time  to  time  pacers 
were  imported  from  Canada  which  founded 
families,  now  mostly  swallowed  up  in  the  great 
whirlpool  of  the  harness  race  horse.  Time  was 
when  there  was  a  distinctive  i '  pacing  conforma- 
tion," marked  by  a  very  drooping  rump  and 
a  peculiar  set  of  the  hind  legs.  Now  the  gaits 
seem  interchangeable  to  a  very  large  extent 
and,  breeding  trotter  to  trotter,  no  man  knows 
whether  the  foal  will  trot  or  pace  when  it  ar- 
rives. The  mere  shift  of  the  check  a  hole  or 
two  or  the  addition  or  subtraction  of  an  ounce 
or  (two  in  the  weight  of  the  shoe  will  convert 
many  a  horse  from  the  trot  to  the  pace  and  vice 
versa.  This  interchangeability  of  gait  is  one  of 
those  things  no  man  can  understand.  It  should 
be  understood  of  course  that  the  trotter  pro- 
gresses diagonally — that  is,  he  advances  the 
fore  foot  on  one  side  and  the  hind  foot  on  the 
other  at  the  same  time,  while  the  pacer  advances 
the  feet  on  the  same  side  at  the  same  time. 


s  » 

0  B 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


OF  THE 

UNIVER 

OF 

.CALIFOR^- 


I 


THE   STANDAKD-BKED.  193 

A  great  triumph  have  the  American  breed- 
ers scored  in  the  formation  of  their  harness 
racing  breed.  In  less  than  a  century  they  have 
succeeded  in  developing  speed  at  the  trot  and 
pace  but  little  inferior  to  that  of  the  Thorough- 
bred at  the  gallop.  They  have  developed  a 
breed  of  horses  that  has  no  equal  for  work  on 
the  road,  a  breed  which  for  endurance  in  long 
journeys  in  harness  is  unsurpassed  and  a  breed 
which  for  elegance  of  conformation,  quality, 
style,  courage,  docility  and  general  suitability 
for  the  purposes  intended  stands  in  a  class  by 
itself. 

Large  numbers  of  high-class  heavy  harness 
horses  have  come  from  within  the  ranks  of  the 
trotting  breed,  but  they  were  misfits — -horses 
that  accidentally  developed  heavy  harness 
excellence  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  were 
bred  with  a  different  object  in  view.  It  will  be 
unnecessary,  once  more,  to  enter  into  the  peren- 
nial controversy  as  ito  the  relative  merits  of  the 
standard-bred  and  coach  or  Hackney-bred 
heavy  harness  horse.  It  must  suffice  to  say  that 
while  magnificent  specimens  have  appeared 
from  time  to  'time  in  the  heavy  harness  classes 
at  the  great  shows  no  man  has  yet  succeeded  in 
turning  out  consistently  high-class  animals  of 
the  'sort  from  standard-bred  or  trotting-bred 
parents. 

With  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  increase  of 
wealth  in  this  country  the  qualifications  re- 


194  THE   HOESE   BOOK. 

quired  in  the  roadster  have  changed.  Not  so 
long  ago  any  horse  that  could  trot  a  mile  in 
3 :00  was  called  a  roadster  in  the  technical  sense 
of  the  word.  Now  the  ranks  of  the  road  horse 
are  recruited  from  among  the  very  fastest  of 
the  great  racing  performers,  both  trotting  and 
pacing.  The  horse  that  can  not  trot  to  wagon 
in  2 :30  .brings  but  small  money  on  account  of 
his  speed  and  the  3 :00  horse  is  only  a  pleasure 
animal.  That  rate  of  speed  is  so  common  now- 
adays as  to  be  a  negligible  quantity  in  the  mak- 
ing of  the  price. 

The  great  general  use  for  the  horse  of  trot- 
ting blood  is,  'however,  on  the  road  in  utilitarian 
walks  of  life.  The  race  course  and  the  speed- 
way consume  but  an  infinitesimal  percentage  of 
all  the  trotting-bred  horses  foaled  each  season. 
The  breed  is  a  priceless  boon  to  the  country  and 
its  fame  has  extended  the  wide  world  over. 

Forty  years  ago  the  Morgan  was  the  most 
favored  of  the  road  types.  This  strain  may 
be  traced  to  a  single  ancestor — Justin  Morgan, 
foaled  in  Vermont  in  1793.  Various  pedigrees 
have  been  allotted  to  him,  but  the  generally  ac- 
cepted belief  now  is  that  his  breeding  was  large- 
ly Thoroughbred.  He  was  a  phenomenal  horse 
in  every  way,  small,  but  of  astounding  strength 
and  stamina.  From  him  descended  the  Black 
Hawk,  Bashaw,  Golddust,  Lambert  and  other 
families,  all  of  which  were  famous  for  road  qual- 
ities and  good  looks.  Some  of  the  fastest  trot- 


THE  STANDAKD-BKED.  195 

ters  carry  Morgan  blood  in  their  veins  and  a 
measure  of  it  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  Ameri- 
can gaited  saddle  horse.  The  Morgan  type  may 
briefly  be  described  as  short  of  leg,  thick  and 
round  of  barrel,  courageous  and  possessing  en- 
durance and  intelligence  of  a  high  order.  In 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  the  strain  was 
very  popular,  but  it  has  nevertheless  been 
absorbed  into  the  great  trotting  breed  and  lit- 
tle of  it  remains  to  bear  witness  to  its  pristine 
excellence  and  popularity.  An  effort  has  been 
made  to  restore  the  breed  to  its  former  posi- 
tion. A  stud  book  is  maintained  for  it  and  gov- 
ernmental aid  has  been  extended  in  the  attempt 
to  rehabilitate  it.  Modern  horse  market  de- 
mand, however,  calls  for  a  horse  of  greater  size 
and  speed,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  any  good  could 
be  accomplished  by  restoring  the  strain.  Classes 
are  still  made  for  Morgans  at  many  state  fairs, 
but  the  general  incongruity  of  the  displays  made 
prove  that  they  no  longer  possess  a  fixed  type. 
The  decadence  of  the  Morgan  horse  is  due  solely 
to  the  demands  of  advancing  civilization. 

Next  to  the  American  the  Orloff  trotter  of 
Eussia  shows  the  greatest  amount  of  speed. 
This  breed  has  had  very  few  representatives  in 
this  country,  but  one  or  two  of  them  have  found 
their  way  into  the  Trotting  Register  as  ances- 
tresses of  standard  performers.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  breed  was  laid  in  1775  by  Count 
Alexis  Orloff  Tchismenski  by  the  mating  of  an 


196  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

Arabian  stallion  with  a  Danish  mare.  The  re- 
sult of  this  union  was  a  colt  called  Polkan  1st, 
and  he  proved  a  great  sire.  Continued  intelli- 
gent effort  soon  raised  the  strain  to  the  dignity 
of  a  breed,  recourse  being  had  to  the  English 
Thoroughbred,  the  Arab,  Barb  and  Dutch 
breeds  for  new  blood.  The  Imperial  govern- 
ment of  Eussia  has  extended  plentiful  and  time- 
ly aid  to  further  the  development  of  the  Orloff, 
by  subsidizing  stallions  and  offering  very  valua- 
ble stakes  and  purses  in  trotting  races.  A  high 
degree  of  speed  has  been  achieved,  despite  the 
handicap  imposed  by  the  peculiar  racing  rigs 
used.  Of  later  years,  however,  American  sul- 
kies and  harness  and  more  or  less  American 
training  methods  have  promoted  a  material  low- 
ering of  the  Eussian  records  at  all  distances. 
Determined  to  take  advantage  of  the  latest 
American  methods  of  training  and  racing  the 
trotter  the  Imperial  authorities  engaged  the 
noted  American  trainer  George  Fuller  of  Ten- 
nessee to-  go  to  Eussia  and  take  charge  of  the 
training  operations  at  the  roy?  stud.  Part  of 
his  work  was  -to  instruct  Eussian  horsemen  in 
the  true  principles  of  the  art  of  balancing  trot- 
ters and  so  getting  their  speed  out  of  them.  A 
few  American  trainers  also  have  been  resident 
in  Eussia  for  years  and  some  American  stallions 
have  been  imported  to  cross  with  the  Orloff 
mares.  Distances  over  which  these  horses  are 
raced  are  long,  extending  sometimes  to  three 


THE   COACHERS.  197, 

miles  or  even  more  and  are  measured  in  versts. 
Much  racing  is  also  done  on  the  ice,  and  while 
the  Orloff  is  somewhat  plain  according  to  our 
ideas  of  .trotting  conformation  and  his  action 
would  not  be  popular  in  this  country,  he  is 
nevertheless  a  real  trotter  in  every  way  worthy 
of  the  name. 

THE  CQAGHEBS. 

When  we  speak  of  a  coacher  or  coach  horse 
we  refer  to  a  horse  well  suited  to  pull  a  coach. 
But  we  have  no  coaches  in  these  days,  as  we 
once  had,  and  if  we  will  look  at  all  closely  into 
the  matter  we  will  find  that  with  the  negligible 
exception  of  the  Cleveland  Bay  not  one  of  the 
breeds  we  now  call  coachers  was  developed  with 
the  object  of  pulling  a  coach.  This  is  a  rather 
anomalous  state  of  affairs,  but  the  condition  is 
nevertheless  as  stated.  Among  the  hills  in  the 
English  county  of  York  the  Cleveland  Bay 
actually  at  one  time  did  yeoman  service  in  haul- 
ing the  heavy  mail  coaches,  but  there  the  coach 
connection  stops.  War  has  been  the  ruling  mo- 
tive in  the  production  of  all  the  other  breeds  of 
coachers  as  we  know  them  in  this  country  today. 
It  was  to  supply  remounts  for  the  army  that 
the  French  government  began  the  nationaliza- 
tion of  its  horse-breeding  business.  It  was  war 
that  induced  the  establishment  of  the  different 
strains  of  coach  hoirses  in  Germany.  The  ob- 
ject in  both  cases  was  to  obtain  a  remount  that 


198  THE   HOKSE    BOOK. 

could  carry  a  soldier  and  Ms  kit  over  the 
ground  -at  a  fair  rate  of  speed.  Following  the 
eithical  coaoh  idea  out  to  its  logical  conclusion  it 
seems  strange  that  the  only  real  coacher  of  the 
lot  should,  after  fair  and  full  trial  here,  have 
dropped  from  sight  entirely  and  that  in  his 
native  land  he  should  have  become  almost  a 
memory — not  quite,  almost.  On  the  other  hand 
the  war  horses  of  France  and  Germany  have 
thriven  and  multiplied  apace  with  us,  the  whole 
of  which  forms  a  somewhat  strange  commen- 
tary on  the  peculiar  mutability  of  equine  af- 
fairs. 

Instead  of  the  old  style  heavy  mail  coach  we 
now  have  the  heavier  sorts  of  carriages,  the 
brougham,  the  landau  and  the  like,  and  the 
horse  required  for  use  in  them  we  term 
"coachy."  As  the  prevailing  tendency  on  the 
part  of  carriagemakers  is  to  build  these  vehicles 
lighter  and  lighter,  the  demand  calls  for  small- 
er horses  than  it  formerly  did.  In  the  United 
States  carriages  of  all  sorts  are  built  on  a  light- 
er plan  than  in  any  other  country  and  the  use 
of  rubber  tires  has  aided  not  a  little  in  this  evo- 
lution. Hence  while  the  carriage  horse  or 
coach  horse  of  the  commerce  of  today  is  con- 
siderably larger  than  the  park  horse  he  is  no 
longer  a  giant.  Sixteen  hands  is  about  his 
limit  and  he  must  not  be  at  all  coarse. 

Quality  is  the  first  essential  of  the  carriage 
horse,  which  term  I  prefer  to  use  for  the  com- 


THE    COACHEKS.  199 

mercial  article  rather  than  coach  horse.  He 
must  be  upstanding  and  commanding  in  out- 
look, long  in  neck,  round  of  barrel,  apple- 
smooth  in  quarter  and  with  a  bit  of  range  to 
him  so  that  he  may  not  have  a  cobby  or  squatty 
appearance.  His  throttle  and  head  must  be 
neat  and  bloodlike,  his  tail  well  carried  and  his 
temper  good,  for  he  has  many  weary  hours  of 
standing  still  to  do  while  milady  makes  her 
calls  or  while  waiting  for  the  train.  His  action 
must  be  high  and  free  in  front,  though  by  no 
means  exaggerated  and  speed  is  not^  required 
of  him.  In  short  the  heavy  carriage  horse 
must  be  an  aristocrat  all  over  or  he  does  not 
fill  the  bill.  Majesty  of  mien  and  step  are  his 
distinguishing  characteristics. 

Dealers  who  cater  to  the  highest  trade  tell  me 
that  they  prefer  these  carriage  horses  under 
rather  than  over  16  hands.  As  to  the  limit  of 
weight,  it  is  hard  to  say.  Weight  has  little  to 
do  with  establishing  value  in  a  carriage  horse. 
Still  we  may  safely  place  the  limit  of  1,250 
pounds  as  abundant  to  go  with  a  height  of  16 
hands  and  preserve  the  proper  proportions. 
British  buyers  are  more  eager  bidders  for 
horses  over  16  hands  than  the  best  eastern  buy- 
ers are.  In  John  Bull's  island  they  still  stick 
to  the  older-fashioned  heavy  type  of  carriage 
and  consequently  they  require  the  larger  sorts, 
not  so  much  as  necessary  motive  power  as  to 
preserve  the  due  relation  between  horses  and 
vehicles. 


200  THE    HOUSE    BOOK. 

Be  it  said  here  that  it  is  no  trick  at  all  to 
grow  coach-bred  colts  to  the  proper  size.  The 
fact  is  that  it  is  easy  to  grow  them  too  large. 
According  to  the  demands  of  the  present-day 
market,  the  big  lubberly  16.3-hand  horse  is  a 
poor  one  to  breed.  With  such  size  a  horse  is 
rarely  able  to  handle  himself.  This  brings  us 
to  a  consideration  of  the  coach  stallion  to 
choose  for  breeding  the  carriage  horses  now 
demanded.  I  count  such  a  stallion  of  1,350 
pounds  plenty  big  enough  and  right  at  16  hands 
tall  enough.  Perfection,  which  standing  still  was 
the  very  beau  ideal  of  a  carriage  horse  sire, 
just  topped  16  hands  a  mere  fraction  of  an 
inch  and  his  weight  never  exceeded  1,350 
pounds.  The  sire  of  the  half-bred  pair  which 
King  Edward  recently  bought  from  Mr.  Van- 
derbilt  is  a  small  horse.  The  great  big  ones 
have  never  proved  as  sires  the  equals  of  those 
of  medium  size.  The  lubberly  kind  is  without 
quality,  and  as  quality  is  a  prime  essential 
coarse  stallions  cannot  succeed  as  sires  of  high- 
class  carriage  horses,  especially  when  mated 
with  mares  lacking  blood. 

A  great  many  of  the  coach  horses  imported 
have  been  too  large  and  with  too  little  quality. 
A  survey  of  the  advertising  files  of  THE  BBEED- 
EB'S  GAZETTE  will  show  that  importers  have 
advertised  coachers  weighing  1,600  pounds  and 
upwards.  I  have  seen  mares  in  the  show  ring 
weighing  not  a  pound  less  than  1,700  and  their 


THE    COACHEKS.  201 

owners  bragged  about  it.  Horses  of  that  weight 
are  expressers  not  coachers,  and  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  beget  the  sort  for  which  the  trade  pays 
the  big  money.  This  coach  horse  business  has 
often  been  put  forward  as  a  sort  of  double- 
barrelled  proposition :  '  *  Get  plenty  of  size  and 
if  you  do  not  get  a  carriage  horse  you  will  get 
a  good  general-purpose  horse,"  which  may  be 
all  right  enough  in  its  way,  but  a  shotgun 
policy  never  yet  has  resulted  in  the  production 
of  high-class  animals  and  it  never  will. 

It  is  owing  to  this  rather  indefinite  policy 
that  many  failures  of  coach  stallions  to  breed 
well  may  be  charged.  Lack  of  suitable  mares 
also  has  been  a  grave  handicap,  but  perhaps 
the  most  potent  factor  of  all,  where  a  coach 
horse  has  failed  to  give  satisfaction,  is  the  utter 
lack  of  an  adequate  conception  of  what  a  car- 
riage horse  is  which  prevails  very  generally 
the  country  over.  I  have  known  coach  stal- 
lions mated  with  every  kind  of  mare  from  a 
700-pound  cayuse  to  a  1,700-pound  three-cross 
Percheron  and  then  be  roundly  anathematized 
because  he  failed  to  beget  a  uniform  progeny. 
It  takes  a  mare  of  refinement  of  conformation 
and  good  blood  to  produce  a  carriage  horse 
that  will  sell  to  advantage.  If  the  desire  is  to 
breed  express  horses,  the  use  of  the  1,600-pound 
alleged  coacher  is  defensible.  Otherwise  it  is 
not.  There  are  exceptions  to  every  rule,  but 
the  medium-sized  coach  stallion  is  the  one  to 


202  THE   HORSE    BOOK. 

use  when  the  intention  is  to  breed  carriage 
horses.  There  is  money  enough  in  breeding 
such  horses  to  make  it  well  worth  the  while  of 
any  man  to  give  the  problem  careful  study. 

THE  FEENCH  OOACHEE. 

French  Coacher  is  a  name  which  we  have 
bestowed  of  our  own  motion  on  a  breed  of 
horses  which  goes  by  an  entirely  different  title 
in  France.  In  the  Gallic  Eepublic  this  breed 
is  called  demi-sang,  which  means  * i  half  -bred. ' ' 
In  the  seventeenth  century  the  French  set 
about  the  nationalization  of  their  horse  breed- 
ing interests  and  to  that  end  .the  government 
stud  or  haras  was  established.  Through  all 
the  tremendous  vicissitudes  encountered  by 
the  French  nation,  through  the  change  from 
monarchy  to  democracy,  through  the  terrors  of 
the  Commune  and  the  enforced  national  lassi- 
tude following  the  defeats  at  Waterloo  and 
Sedan,  the  policy  of  horse  improvement  has 
been  maintained  with  a  central  guiding  hand 
and  one  fixed  purpose  in  view.  That  purpose 
was  to  supply  remounts  for  the  army.  To  this 
end  Thoroughbred  stallions  were  mated  with 
native  French  mares  in  a  far  back  day  and  the 
progeny  of  course  was  half-bred  or  demi-sang. 
So  these  horses  were  called  then  and  so  they 
are  called  now.  A  more  euphonious  title,  mean- 
ing something  to  our  people,  was  required  when 
these  horses  were  first  imported  and  the  name 
French  Coacher  was  chosen. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THE  FEENCH   COAOHEB.  203 

When  the  -nineteenth  century  was  about  one- 
third  gone  the  French  Government  recognized 
two  things :  first  that  the  continued  infusion  of 
the  blood  of  the  Thoroughbred  was  necessary 
for  the  production  of  the  horses  it  desired  and, 
second,  that  a  fast  trot  was  equally  essential  to 
getting  the  mounted  soldier  over  the  ground 
with  the  least  possible  fatigue  and  the  greatest 
celerity.  Consequently  in  1836  the  government 
began  to  offer  prizes  for  trotting  races  and  that 
policy  has  been  continued  to  the  present  day. 
All  the  records  of  all  the  races  that  have  ever 
been  trotted  under  the  auspices  of  the  French 
Government  are  available.  It  was  not  how- 
ever until  the  present  year  (1907)  that  a  stud 
book  for  French  trotters  was  compiled  and  pub- 
lished. This  is  the  "Stud  Book  Trotteur"  com- 
piled by  M.  Louis  Cauchois  and  altogether  a 
work  of  amazing  interest.  It  shows  how  the 
French,  without  outside  aid  of  any  kind  have 
developed  a  race  of  long-distance  trotters  to  a 
highly  creditable  rate  of  speed.  According  to 
our  way  of  figuring  the  speed  is  not  great,  but 
its  uniformity  at  the  various  distances  is  aston- 
ishing. Eaces  at  one  mile  (1,609  metres)  are 
not  popular  in  France.  Instead  the  popular 
distances  are  from  1,750  to  4,000  metres  or 
from  around  a  mile  and  a  quarter  to  a  little 
over  three  miles. 

Records  in  France  are  always  rated  by  the 
kilometre  (roughly  five-eighths  of  a  mile),  no 


204  THE   HOESE    BOOK. 

matter  what  the  distance  traversed  in  the  race. 
That  the  record,  thus  proportioned,  for  the 
1,750-metre  distance  differs  only  about  two 
seconds  from  the  record  for  over  three  miles 
speaks  well  for  the  endurance  of  the  French 
trotter.  Not  only  this  but  the  races  are  trotted 
over  turf  tracks  of  the  most  uneven  character, 
to  saddle  from  a  standing  start  and  the  methods 
employed  by  the  French  trainers  are,  in  the 
light  of  our  American  experience,  execrable. 
The  French  are  the  only  people  who  have  un- 
dertaken to  inject  the  element  of  trotting  speed 
into  their  coachers  and  this,  briefly  described 
is  the  manner  in  which  they  have  done  it. 

It  is  obvious,  however,  that  not  all  the  fami- 
lies in  a  breed  of  such  promiscuous  origin  could 
have  developed  speed  at  the  trot.  Nor  has  the 
attempt  been  made  to  spread  the  trotting  con- 
formation and  action  over  the  entire  strain. 
Hence  it  comes  about  that  there  are  two  divi- 
sions— the  demi-sang  trotteur  and  the  demi- 
sang  carrossier,  which  terms  being  interpreted 
mean  French  Coachers  of  the  trotting  type  and 
French  Coachers  of  the  coach  horse  type.  As 
it  always  has  been  in  the  evolution  of  any  cer- 
tain type  one  or  more  strains  have  given  the 
best  results  and  so  it  is  with  the  French  trot- 
ter. The  blood  of  the  phenomenal  sire  Fuschia 
now  dominates  the  entire  French  trotting  fab- 
ric, and  as  a  sire  of  speed,  according  to 
French  limitations,  the  world  has  never  seen 


^>\ 

HE 

UNIVERSITY  j 

IR^X^ 


OF  THE 


OF 


THE  FKENCH   COACHEB.  205 

his  like.  Infusions  of  Thoroughbred  blood  are 
still  being  poured  into  the  breed  and  indubi- 
tably the  type  is  changing.  As  between  the  two 
now  quite  distinct  types  each  must  choose  for 
himself.  The  trotter  is  going  up  on  legs  some- 
what, but  the  refining  influence  of  the  track  is 
plainly  visible  in  him. 

From  the  beginning  the  object  has  been  to 
secure  a  high-folding  action  in  front  and  a  clean 
lift  behind,  and  the  training  and  racing  over 
rough  turf  tracks  have  aided  in  fixing  this  char- 
acteristic. The  action  of  the  racing  trotter  in 
France  is  not  duplicated  elsewhere.  He  goes 
high  and  he  goes  on  with  it.  Annually  the 
government  purchases  the  best  of  the  three- 
year-old  stallions  and  relegates  them  for  service 
to  the  stud,  where  they  are  available  to  the 
breeders  at  merely  nominal  fees.  Under  the  law 
provision  is  made  for  the  maintenance  of  3,300 
stallions  and  of  these  something  over  2,000  now 
in  service  are  of  the  demi-sang  breed.  France 
takes  mighty  good  care  to  have  plenty  of 
horses  available  for  her  army. 

Being  bred  so  close  to  the  blood  French 
Coachers  are  generally  bay,  brown,  chestnut  or 
black.  The  other  hues  are  not  wanted. 

In  his  career  in  this  country  the  French 
Coacher  has  suffered  both  from  lack  of  suitable 
mares  and  continuity  of  effort  on  the  part  of 
those  who  have  patronized  him.  Besides  the 
efforts  of  the  importers,  more  especially  in  days 


206  THE  HORSE  BOOK. 

gone  by  to  catch  the  public  eye  with  too  large 
individuals  never  did  him  any  good.  Evidence 
nevertheless  is  on  every  hand  that  when  the 
French  Coach  stallion  of  the  right  sort  is 
mated  with  mares  of  running  or  trotting  blood, 
good  quality  and  suitable  shape,  success  fol- 
lows consistently. 

The  question  is  often  asked  if  horses  of  this 
breed  are  branded  in  France.  Seldom  if  ever 
is  a  government  brand  to  be  seen  on  one  of 
them.  Most  of  the  stallions  are  owned  by  the 
government  or  by  private  individuals  who 
either  can  not  afford  to  or  do  not  care  to  com- 
pete with  it,  but  may  use  their  stallions  to  their 
own  mares.  Once  in  a  great  while  a  demi-sang 
horse  is  presented  for  veterinary  examination 
and  approval.  In  the  -event  of  his  being  ac- 
cepted he  is  branded  with  the  five-pointed  star 
beneath  the  mane,  but  occasions  of  the  sort  are 
so  rare  that  the  breed  as  we  know  it  in  this 
country  may  be  said  to  carry  no  governmental 
brand  at  all. 

THE  GERMAN  COACHER. 

Beading  the  history  of  continental  European 
development  and  bearing  in  mind  that  the  Ger- 
man Empire  of  today  is  composed  of  numerous 
states  and  principalities  it  is  not  strange  that  it 
should  be  prolific  of  different  types  of  coach 
horses.  For  perhaps  two  centuries  past  efforts 
at  the  improvement  of  the  horse  with  a  view  to 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THE   GEEMAN   COACHEE.  207 

supplying  good  animals  for  army  use  have  been 
made.  Necessarily,  owing  to  the  number  of 
separate  governments  involved  prior  to  the 
consolidation  of  the  empire,  there  was  no  fixed 
single  policy  followed,  for  which  reason  there 
are  marked  differences  between  the  various 
breeds  or  strains.  The  multiplicity  of  states 
likewise  renders  it  hard  to  reach  very  accurate 
conclusions  regarding  the  early  history  of 
most  of  these  strains,  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  in  point  of  antiquity  these  horses  rank 
with  any  of  their  congeners. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  Germans  have 
made  extended  use  of  the  Thoroughbred  in  the 
evolution  of  some  strains  of  their  coach  horses, 
though  in  others  the  trail  of  the  blood  is  plainly 
discernible.  It  is  well  known  that  the  German 
cavalryman  with  his  kit  weighs  more  than  the 
same  soldier  in  any  other  army  and  hence  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  we  find  the  German 
horses  possessing  much  substance.  No  effort 
to  inject  speed  at  the  trot  has  been  made  at  any 
time  and  hence  the  German  Coach  horse  as  we 
know  him  is,  so  to  speak,  in  a  class  by  himself 
and  not  comparable  to  or  to  be  judged  by  the 
same  standards  as  his  Gallic  neighbor. 

The  old  Duchy  of  Oldenburg  and  the  district 
of  East  Friesland  produce  the  most  of  the 
German  horses  imported  to  the  United  States. 
It  is  probable  that  consistent  effort  at  improve- 
ment has  been  carried  on  in  this  region  for  a 


208  THE   HOUSE   BOOK. 

longer  period  than  elsewhere  in  any  part  of  the 
empire.  Less  use,  too,  of  the  Thoroughbred 
has  probably  been  made  there  than  in  any  other 
district.  Government  aid  is  extended  to  the 
breeders  rand  stallions  are  annually  approved 
for  public  service.  Conservative  always  and 
hastening  slowly  the  Oldenburg  breeders  have 
succeeded  in  turning  out  what  is  probably  the 
most  uniform  breed  of  the  kind  extant.  Bays, 
browns  and  blacks  are  the  established  colors 
and  must  have  been  favored  for  a  long  time, 
as  it  is  a  very  rare  thing  to  see  an  off-colored 
colt  after  one  of  these  horses.  German  methods 
.and  regulations  are  at  times  hard  for  the  Ameri- 
can mind  to  understand,  but  from  such  informa- 
tion as  may  be  gathered,  horse  breeding  in  Ger- 
many is  carried  on  in  a  manner  which  is  about 
half  way  between  the  nationalized  system  of 
France  and  the  free  individualism  of  Britain. 
Many  questions  have  been  put  regarding  the 
brands  visible  on  German  Coachers.  Applica- 
tion was  made  to  the  Imperial  Minister  of  Agri- 
culture at  Berlin  for  an  official  statement,  which 
runs  thus : 

"In  Germany,  that  is  in  Oldenburg,  East  Friesland,  and 
in  parts  of  Holstein,  only  young  stallions  or  stallion  foals 
are  branded.  These  brands  are  for  the  purpose  to  prove 
that  the  young  stallions  received  premiums.  In  East 
Prussia  all  the  produce  of  mares  that  are  entered  in  the 
East  Prussian  Stud  Book  are  branded  with  the  double 
'Elchshovel/  The  State  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  busi- 
ness of  branding." 


THE   GERMAN  COACHER.  209 

Desiring  also  the  pronunciamento  of  some 
one  well  known  in  the  trade  application  was 
made  to  Herr  Ed.  Ltibben  for  a  comprehensive 
statement  regarding  these  brands.  He  writes 
as  follows : 

"All  Oldenburg  and  East  Friesland  horses  exported  to 
your  country,  passed  or  not  by  the  government,  are 
branded  on  the  left  hind  leg.  Besides  that,  in  the  East 
Friesland  district  the>  government-approved  horses  are 
branded  also  on  the  neck,  and  in  the  Oldenburg  district 
those  three-year-old  horses  which  got  a  government  pre- 
mium are  also  branded  on  the  neck.  At  some  local  shows 
the  prize-winning  colts  also  get  a  brand  on  their  necks. 
There  being  so  very  few  government-approved  stallions, 
in  fact  hardly  any  more  than  are  wanted  in  the  districts 
here,  there  could  only  be  very,  very  few  sold  to  go  abroad. 
From  this  you  can  see  that  every  Oldenburg  or  East 
Friesland  horse  exported  to  your  country  has  to  be  branded 
on  the  left  hind  leg.  In  a  few  cases  you  may  find  one  over 
there  which  is  also  branded  on  the  neck.  The  Holstein 
and  East  Prussian  districts  have  other  books  and  differ- 
ent brands  and  regulations,  but  they  hardly  sell  any  to 
to  go  to  your  country." 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  brands  on 
German  Coachers  form  rather  a  complicated 
subject,  but  more  information,  or  rather  more 
extended  information,  does  not  seem  to  be 
forthcoming. 

It  was  at  the  Columbian  that  the  American 
public  had  its  first  real  introduction  to  the  Ger- 
man Ooacher  in  hrs  proper  estate.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion in  my  mind  if  we  have  seen  better  horses 
of  the  breed  since,  though  perhaps  we  have  seen 
as  good.  During  the  era  of  stagnation  that  fol- 
lowed the  closing  of  the  gates  of  the  beautiful 
White  City  some  little  trading  in  these  horses 

14 


210  THE   HORSE   BOOK. 

persisted  and  more  or  less  desultory  importing 
operations  were  continued.  At  that  time 
horse-breeding  was  not  in  high  favor  and  state 
fair  exhibits  of  horses  attracted  little  attention. 
Still  despite  this  most  discouraging  reception 
those  who  were  interested  in  the  German 
Coadier  kept  on  showing  him  and  as  a  natural 
consequence  the  breed  became  familiar  to  most 
fairgoers.  Such  stallions  as  did  find  buyers  be- 
came popular  in  the  districts  in  which  they 
were  placed  and  when  the  tide  finally  turned 
the  demand  for  them  opened  up  in  fine  shape. 
They  got  a  lot  of  good  mares  to  their  cover  at 
that  time  and  they  begot  a  lot  of  colts  and  fillies 
that  were  well  suited  to  the  export  trade,  then 
flourishing,  with  the  result  that  their  get  ac- 
quired popularity  for  the  reason  that  a  market 
could  readily  be  found  for  it. 

At  that  the  German  Coacher  has  suffered 
from  a  too  general  ignorance  on  the  part  of 
farmers  of  the  principles  involved  in  breeding 
carriage  horses.  Full  of  substance  and  some- 
what inclined  to  grossness  the  German  Coacher 
has  for  the  most  part  been  mated  with  mares 
that  were  too  large  and  possessed  too  little 
quality.  That  the  quality  kind  of  German 
Coacher  will  beget  the  right  kind  of  quality  and 
action  when  properly  mated  admits  of  no  doubt. 
We  have  seen  his  grades  at  shows  and  else- 
where that  filled  the  bill  very  close  to  the  edge 
and  the  beautiful  dark  brown  color  which  so 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


THE    CLEVELAKD    BAY.  211 

often  follows  the  use  of  such  a  stallion  has 
greatly  endeared  him  to  the  farmers  in  many 
districts. 

Taking  all  this  into  consideration,  and  credit- 
ing him  with  all  the  good  he  has  done,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  German  Coacher  as  he  is 
imported  to  this  country  lacks  quality.  Wheth- 
er the  German  breeders  desire  to  remedy  this 
defect,  I  do  not  know.  In  the  last  few  years 
there  has  been  no  evidence  of  a  move  in  this 
direction,  albeit  we  have  seen  some  show 
horses  of  the  breed  which  indicate  that  there 
is  quality  within  it  which  might  be  utilized  for 
its  general  refinement.  German  breeders  would 
serve  themselves  well,  so  far  as  the  American 
trade  is  concerned,  if  they  would  inject  more 
quality,  style  and  "gimp"  into  the  breed  as  a 
whole,  and  trappier  action.  At  that  the  Ger- 
man Coacher  is  here  to  stay,  a  popular  horse 
and  deservedly  so. 

THE  CLEVELAND  BAY  AND  YOEKSHIEE 
COACH  HORSE. 

Only  passing  notice  need  be  extended  to 
these  two  breeds.  They  had  their  trial  in  this 
country  and  have  been  discarded  as  any  sort  of 
a  general  factor  in  our  horse  breeding  economy. 
The  Cleveland  Bay  breed  has  existed  in  York- 
shire, England,  for  centuries  and  in  an  older 
day  was  used  both  for  agricultural  and  coach 
work  on  the  road.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there 


212  THE    HORSE    BOOK. 

never  was  much  of  anything  about  the  breed  to 
recommend  it.  Cold-blooded  and  not  attractive 
in  conformation  or  action,  when  bred  in  its 
purity,  it  never  appeale'd  specially  to  American 
horsemen.  Eecognizing  that  the  Cleveland 
Bay  was  too  slow  certain  English  breeders  in- 
jected Thoroughbred  blood  into  it  and  called 
the  result  the  Yorkshire  Coach  Horse.  There 
are  separate  stud  books  in  England,  but  in  this 
country  both  sorts  are  registered  in  one  book. 
Some  very  beautiful  specimens  of  the  York- 
shire Coach  horse  have  been  shown  here  as 
Cleveland  Bays,  which  was  all  right  so  long  as 
they  were  all  recorded  in  the  Cleveland  Bay 
book,  but  one  of  the  most  attractive — though 
possibly  not  the  best — we  remember  was  a 
golden  bay  stallion  bred  in  Illinois  and  his  sire 
was  a  horse  with  three  or  four  crosses  of 
Thoroughbred  blood.  In  short  the  Cleveland 
Bay  had  neither  the  blood  nor  the  action  to  be- 
come permanently  popular  in  America.  True, 
he  did  beget  from  fine  trotting-bred  mares  some 
high-class  carriage  horses,  but  then  we  must 
remember  the  old  Scotch  proverb  that  "if  you 
boil  a  whinstone  in  butter  the  bree  (soup)  will 
be  good."  Yet  the  Cleveland  Bay  alone  of  all 
our  so-called  coach  breeds  was  in  reality  a 
coach  horse  within  the  original  meaning  of 
that  term. 


V'     0(r  THE 

DIVERSITY 


THE    HACKNEY.  213 

THE  HACKNEY. 

Prior  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
use  of  wheeled  vehicles  was  not  general  in 
Britain,  nor  indeed,  anywhere  else.  Eoads  were 
few  and  bad  and  people  stirred  abroad  afoot  or 
ahorseback.  In  the  eastern  part  of  England 
there  was  at  that  time  a  strain  of  riding  horses 
called  the  Norfolk  Trotter  and  the  Hackney  is 
his  lineal  descendant.  It  is  peculiar  how  dif- 
ferent nations  develop  live  stock  along  such  dif- 
ferent lines  with  the  same  object  in  view.  In 
the  eighteenth  and  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
centuries  the  Norfolk  Trotter  was  a  fast  horse, 
able  to  gallop,  trot,  walk  and  stay.  Yet  he  was 
a  thick-necked,  heavy-headed,  cobby  little  horse, 
devoid  of  much  beauty,  if  we  are  to  believe  that 
the  artists  of  the  time  have  portrayed  him  cor- 
rectly. There  is  no  question  about  his  speed 
over  long  distances.  There  is  no  need  to  bur- 
den these  pages  with  the  records  of  feats 
achieved  in  the  dim  and  misty  past,  but  there 
is  no  denying  the  fact  that  the  trotting  inher- 
itance bequeathed  to  the  Kent  Mare  by  imp. 
Bellf ounder  materially  assisted  in  the  formation 
of  our  own  unchallenged  trotting  breed.  The 
action  of  these  old-time  English  trotters  was 
high  both  fore  and  aft,  and  the  general  trappi- 
ness  of  the  type  seems  always  to  have  been  one 
of  its  characteristics  despite  its  heavy  forehand 
and  substantial  thickness. 

With    the    more    universal    introduction    of 


214  THE   HOUSE   BOOK. 

wheeled  vehicles  came  a  general  refining  of  the 
breed.  As  we  have  seen  the  history  of  the  Hack- 
ney in  this  country  dates  back  to  the  importa- 
tion of  Bellf ounder  in  1823,  but  there  is  a  great 
gap  to  be  bridged  between  that  date  and  the 
inception  of  what  we  may  call  the  general  trans- 
ference of  the  breed  across  the  ocean.  It  was 
in  about  1880  that  'this  was  begun  and  at  first 
the  Hackney  had  a  hard  row  to  hoe.  The  im- 
porters seemed  to  have  a  craze  for  bringing 
over  the  largest  horses  they  could  lay  hands  on 
— horses  that  today  would  be  discarded.  Then 
came  the  era  of  the  horse-in-harness  show.  In 
England  the  Hackney  was  par  excellence  the 
favored  carriage  horse  for  use  in  the  lighter 
styles  of  vehicle.  He  could  put  up  his  knees  and 
hocks  in  approved  fashion.  So  some  of  our 
rich  men  began  to  support  him. 

About  this  time  the  bottom  of  the  market  for 
trotting-bred  horses  dropped  out  so  far  that  it 
seemed  it  could  never  be  discovered  again. 
Stallions  that  had  been  doing  a  profitable  busi- 
ness at  from  $50  to  $100  a  mare  suddenly  found 
themselves  without  anything  to  do.  They  were 
offered  for  what  'they  would  bring.  The  deal- 
ers grabbed  at  their  opportunity  and  it  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say  that  in  the  seven  or  eight 
years  which  followed  1890  thousands  of  trot- 
ting-bred  stallions  were  emasculated,  docked 
and  converted  into  heavy  harness  horses.  Poor 
excuses  they  were  at  the  game,  these  rough  old 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  } 

OF 


THE    HACKNEY.  215 

stags,  but  they  were  a  home  product  and  the 
invasion  of  the  Hackney  was  resented  in  such 
a  partisan  spirit  that  he  could  not  or  at  least 
did  not  get  half  what  was  coming  to  him,  if  that. 
Even  with  the  importation  of  very  high-class 
horses  and  mares — London  Hackney  Show  and 
Eoyal  champions — the  Hackney  labored  under 
the  stern  refusal  of  the  judges  to  take  him 
seriously.  Some  show  yard  decisions  rendered 
about  that  time  must  lie  very  heavy  on  the  con- 
sciences -of  the  men  who  rendered  them,  espe- 
cially in  the  light  of  these  later  days/ 

Still  the  Hackney  men  stuck  to  their  guns. 
The  theater  of  importation  was  removed  large- 
ly from  the  West  to  the  East  and  by  sheer  force 
of  inherent  merit  the  Hackney  began  to  force 
recognition.  Times  mended  and  men  began  to 
grow  richer.  Simultaneously  the  supply  of  old 
stags  of  trotting  breed  began  to  die  out.  Im- 
portations of  hi^h-clas'S  performers,  perfectly 
mannered  and  gifted  with  superb  action  and 
conformation  were  made,  and  the  Hackney  set 
out  on  'the  triumphal  march  which  has  since 
culminated  in  his  victory  in  almost  all  of  the 
important  challenge  prizes  at  all  of  the  great 
shows.  There  is  no  gainsaying  that  the  Hack- 
ney has  fully  come  into  his  own  as  the  recog- 
nized park  horse  in  the  United  States  as  well 
as  England.  Extensive  importations  of  the 
breed  are  made  annually,  not  so  much  for  breed- 
ing purposes  as  for  showing  in  harness  and  in 


216  THE   HOUSE   BOOK. 

many  instances  higher  prices  are  paid  in  Eng- 
land by  American  dealers  than  their  British 
brethren  can  afford. 

Typically  the  Hackney  is  not  a  large  horse. 
Few  run  to  16  hands  and  preserve  the  type  re- 
quired by  the  best  judges.  There  are  still  some 
heavy  specimens  to  be  found,  but  they  usually 
lack  in  those  qualities  which  have  made  for  the 
success  of  the  breed.  With  the  lapse  of  time 
there  have  come  to  be  two  schools  among  Hack- 
ney men  generally — those  who  must  have  action 
first,  last  and  all  the  time  as  the  prime  essential 
and  those  who  desire  quality  and  beauty  of 
conformation  first  and  a  more  moderate  degree 
of  action  to  go  with  it.  Personally  I  am  in- 
clined to  side  with  those  who  must  have  action 
at  all  hazards.  To  me  a  Hackney  is  not  worth 
the  name  unless  he  can  go  like  the  proverbial 
house  afire.  Personally,  moreover,  I  know  this : 
You  may  go  to  the  New  York  market  with  a 
rather  plain  horse  that  can  take  his  knees  to  his 
chin  and  his  hocks  to  his  dock  and  you  can  sell 
him  right  off  the  reel,  whereas  if  you  have  one 
that  is  full  of  quality  and  beauty  but  can  not  go 
much  you  will  have  to  search  some  time  for  a 
buyer.  There  is  no  more  pleasing  sight  in  all 
horsedom  than  a  well  broken  Hackney  going 
around  the  arena  at  the  end  of  a  long  ^hite 
rope,  doing  his  stunt  with  his  knees  and  hocks 
as  he  should  and  withal  going  on  with  it.  I 
have  little  patience  with  the  kind  that  "can  go 


THE    HACKNEY. 


217 


all  day  in  a  'half -bushel, "  as  the  contemptuous 
reference  was  to  all  Hackneys  in  the  days  of 
their  novitiate  in  this  country.  We  need  a  bit 
of  speed  in  this  country  as  well  as  lift. 

Though  we  all  know  what  real  Hackney  con- 
formation is  there  is  still  a  considerable  lack  of 
uniformity  in  the  breed.  The  similarity  of 
action  I  count  the  most  salient  of  its  features. 
The  somewhat  heavy  neck  and  rather  square 
head  are  still  to  be  met  up  with,  but  the  selec- 
tive operations  of  the  best  breeders  are  tending 
toward  refinement  consistently  and  persist- 
ently. 

While  pure-bred  Hackneys  have  not  been 
produced  in  great  numbers  in  this  country  we 
have  had  enough  of  them  to  indicate  that  the 
British  breeders  have  no  monopoly  on  the  pro- 
duction of  the  best.  True,  the  importation  of 
large  numbers  of  the  highest-class  stallions  and 
mares  is  too  recent  to  permit  of  their  having 
been  relegated  from  the  show  yard  to  the  stud 
and  produced  colts  that  have  matured,  but  it 
will  be  strange  indeed  if  with  the  material  we 
now  have  to  work  with  we  cannot  at  least  hold 
John  Bull  level  at  his  own  game.  In  passing  I 
want  to  say  that  I  count  the  emasculation  of  old 
Forest  King  nothing  short  of  a  national  calam- 
ity. 

When  crossed  with  native  mares  the  Hackney 
stallion  of  the  right  type  has  made  good.  He 
has  transmitted  his  conformation  and  action  in 


218  THE   HORSE   BOOK. 

due  and  proper  proportion,  but  the  breeding  of 
Hackneys  is  not  a  game  to  be  played  promiscu- 
ously. No  one  need  think  for  instance  that  the 
•splendid  action  of  the  sire  will  be  reproduced 
in  the  progeny  as  it  shows  up  in  the  parent. 
Far  from  it;  the  aptitude  for  development  is 
transmitted,  not  the  finished  article.  It  is  much 
the  same  as  with  trotting  or  pacing  speed.  Did 
any  one  ever  hear  of  a  champion  Hildred  com- 
ing green  from  -the  field  or  a  Nancy  Hanks, 
2:04,  emanating  rough  from  the  pasture?  In 
this  way  disappointment  has  often  been  ex- 
perienced by  those  who  have  bred  native  mares 
to  Hackney  stallions  and  discovered  that  the 
action  of  the  colts  as  three-year-olds  did  not 
equal  or  at  least  approximate  that  of  the  sire. 
Disappointment  with  the  mating  has  then  been 
expressed  and  the  colt  sold  to  a  dealer,  only  to 
develop  into  a  park  horse  of  approved  action. 

Medium  size,  from  14.3  to  15.2  hands,  and 
trappiness  of  action,  together  with  much  ro- 
tundity of  form  and  sloping  shoulders  are  char- 
acteristics of  the  Hackney  in  his  best  estate. 
By  trappiness  of  action  I  do  not  mean  to  con- 
vey that  a  good-going  Hackney  picks  his  fore 
feet  up  high  and  then  'slams  them  down  hard 
on  the  ground  again  very  little  in  advance  of 
where  they  were  elevated.  Instead  of  this 
rough  and  choppy  action  the  Hackney  should 
advance  his  fore  feet  as  though  following  the 
rim  of  a  rolling  wheel,. not  dwelling  in  his  re- 


^"',£B' 

>^ 

9F 


u. 

OF   THE  A 

UNIVERSITY   ) 

OF  / 

g^JFO^^X 


THE    HACKNEY.  219 

covery  but  bringing  the  foot  up  again  quickly 
and  throwing  it  upward  and  forward  again  with 
machine-like  regularity.  The  hocks  should  be 
flexed  very  sharply,  brought  up  well  beneath 
the  body  and  the  hind  feet  advanced  with  a 
springy  regular  motion  that  it  is  not  easy  to 
describe.  In  conclusion  the  Hackney  is  the  only 
breed  of  horses  in  which  the  proverb  "a  good 
big  one  will  always  beat  a  good  little  one"  does 
not  hold  good. 

The  Hackney  pony,  which  is  achieving  a  great 
vogue  in  this  country  at  present,  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  members  of  the  equine  family. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  most  exaggerated 
action  is  to  be  found  in  these  diminutive  Hack- 
neys. In  Britain  these  little  horses,  which  range 
from  12.2  to  14  hands  in  height,  have  always 
been  very  popular  and  many  of  them  not  only 
possess  wonderfully  high  action  but  quite  a  bit 
of  speed  as  well.  It  is  only  of  later  years  that 
they  have  become  favorites  in  America,  but 
nowadays  higher  prices  are  paid  for  them  here 
than  in  any  other  country.  The  Hackney  pony, 
properly  so  called,  is  eligible  for  registration  in 
the  Hackney  Stud  Book,  height  restrictions  not 
being  imposed.  Breeding  these  ponies  is  a  lu- 
crative business,  but  has  not  been  largely  un- 
dertaken with  us  as  yet.  The  demand  is  broad, 
however,  and  constantly  increasing  and  af- 
fluence apparently  awaits  the  breeder  who  can 
produce  a  supply  of  the  goods  desired. 


220  THE   HOESE    BOOK. 

THE  SADDLE  HOESE.— THE  AMERICAN 
FIVE-GAITED  SADDLER. 

United  States  breeders  can  lay  claim  to  hav- 
ing developed  two  breeds  of  horses — the  stand- 
ard-bred and  the  five-gaited  or  so-called  Ken- 
tucky or  American  saddler.  Both  are  essentially 
American  products  and  both  distinctive  in  the 
great  realm  of  horse  breeding.  Development  of 
the  gaited  horse  was  born  of  necessity."  In  the 
new  country  pioneered  by  the  old  Virginia 
families  distances  were  long  and  roads  almost 
unknown.  Journeys  had  to  be  made  in  the 
saddle  over  mountain  and  vale,  through  forest 
and  over  stream,  and  the  mind  of  the  rider  was 
bent  to  the  production  of  gaits  which  would 
rid  himself  of  the  discomfort  of  the  everlasting 
jolt  of  the.  trot  and  his  horse  of  the  hardship 
imposed  by  the  canter  or  hand-gallop.  The  net 
result  was  a  broken  step  which  enabled  the  rider 
to  sit  at  his  ease  in  the  saddle  and  get  over 
the  ground  comfortably  and  quickly. 

While  the  history  of  the  formation  of  this 
breed  dates  back  a  comparatively  short  time 
and  lies  an  open  book  before  us,  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  go  farther  than  to  state  that  its  main 
original  factors  were  the  Thoroughbred  and 
the  pacer.  The  true  pace  is  an  objectionable 
gait  under  saddle.  The  modifications  of  it, 
which  have  been  achieved,  form  the  apotheosis 
of  equine  locomotion  under  the  saddle.  Den- 


THE   FIVE-GAITED  SADDLE  HOUSE.  221 

mark,  by  imp.  Hedgeford,  was  the  Thorough- 
bred stallion  whose  name  stands  out  most  prom- 
inently in  the  history  of  the  breed,  as  does  that 
of  imp.  Messenger  in  the  annals  of  the  stand- 
ard-bred. Development  of  the  gaited  saddler 
has  been  in  the  hands  of  men  of  much  intelli- 
gence and  in  some  cases  more  or  less  wealth, 
and  though  the  breed  is  by  no  means  numerous, 
nor  the  breeding  studs  large,  it  has  overspread 
much  of  the  country,  winning  its  way  by  its 
delightful  qualities,  beauty  and  docility.  Apti- 
tude to  go  the  five  gaits  is  now  a  firmly  fixed 
characteristic,  transmitted  with  much  regu- 
larity, but  like  the  speed  of  the  trotter  and  the 
high  action  of  the  show  ring  Hackney  the  pe- 
culiar gaits  -as  we  see  them  in  the  arena  are  the 
result  of  competent  training.  The  get  of  the 
gaited  saddler  will  break  its  step  naturally  in 
what  is  popularly  termed  a  "  singlef  oot, "  but 
the  running  walk,  fox  trot  or  slow  pace  and 
the  rack  are  acquired  correctly  only  under  the 
touch  of  the  master  hand.  Not  only  this  but 
when  once  acquired  in  acceptable  form  the  rack 
is  readily  forgotten  or  becomes  corrupted  if 
not  persevered  with. 

Five  gaits  are  required  of  the  gaited  saddle 
horse — the  walk,  trot,  rack  and  canter,  and  as 
a  fifth  gait  either  the  fox  trot,  running  walk  or 
slow  pace.  Demand  for  three-gaited  horses  in 
the  eastern  markets — walk,  trot,  canter — after 
the  English  fashion  has  caused  many  of  the 


222  THE   HOKSE    BOOK. 

five-gaited  horses  to  be  marketed  with  the 
three  gaits  only.  In  fact  the  five-gaited  horse 
has  never  been  popular  in  the  East.  The  West 
and  South  have  been  his  strongholds  and  Ken- 
tucky and  Missouri  'and  to  some  extent  Illinois 
are  his  chief  nurseries.  The  eastern  prejudice 
against  the  five-gaited  horse  is  against  his 
"easy  gaits,"  not  against  the  horse.  Kentucky- 
bred  five-gaited  horses  divested  of  'their  extra 
gaits  have  been  sold  in  the  East  for  record- 
breaking  prices  and  won  many  firsts  and 
championships  at  the  leading  shows.  The  five- 
gaited  horse  is  fairly  popular  in  Boston. 

It  is  not  altogether  easy  to  describe  the  con- 
formation of  the  five-gaited  horse.  The  reader 
is  referred  to  the  illustrations.  It  is  still  hard- 
er to  describe  the  gaits.  One  man  only — W.  E. 
Goodwin,  of  THE  BBEEDEB'S  GAZETTE — has  ever 
succeeded  in  setting  down  on  paper  what 
happens  as  the  horse  goes  through  his  five- 
gaits,  and  I  present  in  full  a  descriptive  article 
by  him  which  appeared  in  that  paper  and  which 
is  accepted  as  standard  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

"One  of  the  present  encouragements  to  horse  breeding 
is  the  keen  and  widespread  interest  in  saddle  horses. 
The  report  of  the  seventeenth  annual  meeting  of  the 
American  Saddle  Horse  Breeders'  Association  in  our  last 
issue  gave  proof  sufficient  of  the  stability  of  this  branch 
of  American  horse  breeding.  That  association  has  sought 
to  establish  types  through  the  concentration  of  blood  and 
allow  the  user  to  select  the  gaits  to  which  his  mount 
shall  be  educated.  Whether  the  five-gaited  or  the  three- 
gaited  horse,  whether  the  horse  that  racks  or  the  horse 


THE  FIVE-GAITED  SADDLE  HORSE.'  223 


that  walk-trots,  the  aim  has  been  to  get  an  animal  with 
inherited  inclinations  to  carry  weight  under  the  saddle 
with  a  sense  of  responsibility. 

"It  is  interesting  to  note  that  not  only  in  the  cornbelt 
(where  saddle  horses  are  not  so  common  as  in  the  south- 
ern states)  but  also  in  the  range  countries  where  day-in 
and  day-out  saddle  work  taxes  the  riders,  there  is  a  desire 
to  learn  of  the  nicer  points  of  horseback  riding,  the  re- 
finements of  equitation.  These  are  more  readily  taught 
in  the  riding  school  than  through  the  printed  page,  and 
yet  they  must  be  taught  in  some  way.  Inquiries  fre- 
quently come  for  information  as  to  how  to  use  a  saddle 
horse  that  has  been  educated  after  the  southern  methods, 
or  in  other  words  how  to  get  a  horse  to  go  the  gaits 
to  which  he  has  been  trained.  We  have  had  occasion  to 
try  to  enlighten  readers  on  the  subject,  but  recurrence 
to  it  again  seems  necessary.  In  a  recent  issue  we  en- 
deavored to  describe  the  gaits  of  a  trained  saddle  horse, 
and  the  subject  will  stand  yet  further  elucidation,  to- 
gether with  some  practical  suggestions  on  changing  the 
gaits  under  saddle.  A  horse  that  'gangs  his  ain  gait'  can 
hardly  be  called  a  satisfactory  saddler.  No  horseman 
should  rest  content  until  he  has  taught  his  mount  to 
change  his  gait  at  a  given  signal,  so  that  he  may  com- 
mand any  pace  at  will. 

"First,  let  us  get  the  names  of  the  gaits  straight  before 
we  straighten  out  the  gaits  themselves.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  term  'single-foot'  aptly  describes  the 
'four-beat'  gait,  or  that  action  in  a  horse  in  which  each 
foot  has  a  separate  fall  on  the  ground;  but  'the  powers 
that  be' — the  men  who  breed  and  train  horses,  and  who 
conduct  the  American  Saddle  Horse  Breeders'  Association 
— years  ago  abandoned  the  use  of  tha.t  term  and  substi- 
tuted the  word  rack.  This  is  not  so  pretty  a  name,  but  it 
is  shorter,  it  is  correct,  and  it  has  the  greatest  weight  of 
authority  for  its  use.  The  single-foot  and  the  rack  are 
one  and  the  same  gait,  but  it  is  better  to  use  the  word 
rack  in  describing  it. 

"The  word  'lope'  is  a  contraction  of  gallop.  There  are 
three  words  used  to  describe  this  action  according  to  its 
speed.  When  a  horse  is  fully  extended  going  fast  it  is 
called  a  run;  when  he  is  going  at  moderate  speed  it  is 
called  a  gallop,  and  when  the  similar  movement  is  exe- 
cuted slowly  it  is  called  a  canter.  Yet  another  distinction 
may  be  introduced,  and  that  is  a  hand-gallop.  This  comes 
between  a  canter  and  a  gallop,  but  it  is  more  nearly  like 
a  canter.  But  there  is  much  more  of  a  difference  in  these 


224  THE   HORSE   BOOK. 


movements  than  mere  speed.  The  gallop  and  run  are 
natural  gaits;  the  hand-gallop  and  canter  are  cultivated 
gaits.  The  two  first-named  are  rough  to  ride,  the  other 
two  are  pleasant.  The  cultivated  canter  is  not  only  the 
slowest  movement  of  this  action,  but  it  is  performed  with 
more  restraint;  the  horse  works  more  on  his  haunches; 
his  hind  legs  are  better  under  him;  he  bounds  up  in  front 
lightly  and  drops  to  the  ground  in  the  same  manner,  sus^ 
taining  his  weight  on  his  hind  legs  and  haunches  instead 
of  letting  it  come  down  'ker-plunk,'  as  in  the  gallop  or  run. 
The  canter  is  done  on  the  curb,  and  the  horse  arches  his 
neck  and  sets  his  head  a  little  lower  than  in  trot  or  rack, 
but  the  educated  horse  does  not  take  hold  hard  in  a  can- 
ter. The  slower  this  gait  is  performed,  when  done  with 
promptness,  animation  and  exactness,  the  better.  Hence 
the  Kentucky  expression:  'He  can  canter  all  day  in  the 
shade  of  an  apple  tree.'  But  it  should  not  be  a  lazy,  list- 
less, loose  gait.  The  fore  feet  should  rise  from  the  ground 
almost  simultaneously  and  the  hind  feet  likewise.  The 
'three-foot'  canter — or  a  canter  in  front  and  a  rack  or 
'jiggle'  behind, — is  not  desirable;  it  is  a  mixed  gait.  The 
horse  that  seems  fairly  aching  to  run  and  yet  restrains  his 
spirits  at  the  will  of  the  rider  and  canters  lightly  on  the 
curb  at  about  five  miles  an  hour  is  doing  the  proper  caper. 
This  is  the  educated  saddle  gait.  A  gallop  is  faster,  unedu- 
cated and  far  less  pleasant  to  ride.  When  a  horse  can 
canter  the  rider  should  have  more  pride  in  the  gait  than  to 
call  it  a  'lope.' 

"All  saddle  horses  educated  in  the  South  are  broken  prac- 
tically alike.  That  is,  they  have  been  taught  the  same  sig- 
nals for  changing  gaits.  When  trainers  themselves  have 
not  been  educated,  but  are  of  the  rough  'home-spun'  kind, 
there  is  no  such  uniformity  of  signals.  If  your  horse  has 
been  educated  by  a  competent  trainer,  let  us  ride  out  to- 
gether and  see  what  can  be  done  with  him.  We  will  start 
on  the  walk;  that  is  the  foundation  of  all  sadde  gaits.  If 
riding  with  a  double-rein  bridle,  with  curb  and  snaffle  bits, 
take  him  on  the  snaffle  lightly.  By  word  or  touch  of  whip 
or  crop,  or  by  touch  of  spur  if  necessary,  urge  him  to  the 
top  of  his  speed  at  the  flat-foot  walk.  Keep  him  up  to  the 
mark.  There  is  a  time  to  lay  the  reins  loosely  on  his  neck 
and  loaf,  but  not  now.  Hold  him  steadily  at  the  flat-foot 
walk,  and  if  he  is  a  good  walker  he  will  carry  you  four 
miles  an  hour;  if  he  takes  you  five  miles  in  that  time  you 
have  as  good  a  walker  as  any  man  possesses. 

"Now  we  will  go  from  the  walk  to  the  running-walk  or 
slow-pace — the  slow  'jiggle.'  These  are  easier  gaits  than 


THE  FIVE-GAITED  SADDLE  HORSE.  225 


the  walk  and  faster.  They  are  right  on  the  edge  of  a  'four 
beat'  gait.  That  is,  you  can  hear  each  foot-fall  distinctly. 
Loosen  your  snaffle  reins  and  take  hold  lightly  of  the  curb 
and  give  him  a  touch  of  the  spur,  urging  him  just  out  of  a 
walk.  These  are  gaits  a  little  faster  than  a  walk  and  not 
so  fast  as  a  rack.  They  are  what  are  called  slow  gaits. 
Cleanly  performed  they  are  delightful  to  ride;  they  are  all- 
day  gaits.  The  real  old-fashioned  plantation  running-walker 
is  a  'nodder;'  he  keeps  time  to  his  paces  by  the  nodding  of 
his  head,  just  as  a  mule  does  by  the  flop  of  his  ears.  This 
gait  is  literally  named.  It  is  an  accelerated  walk — a  run- 
ning walk,  not  a  flat-foot  'heel  and  toe'  walk.  The  slow- 
pace  is  not  the  side-wheel  gait  of  the  harness  horse;  there 
is  too  much  roll  to  that.  It  is  a  similar  gait,  but  instead  of 
both  feet  on  one  side  of  the  body  striking  the  ground  at 
exactly  the  same  instant,  there  is  just  enough  break  in  the 
impact  to  introduce  a  short  interval  and  rob  the  gait  of  the 
unpleasant  roll  of  the  side-wheeler.  The  fox-trot  is  the 
other  slow  gait.  It  is  a  dog-trot,  a  slow  and  rather  loose- 
jointed  trot,  a  'shog.'  Whichever  gait  the  horse  strikes 
when  pushed  out  of  a  walk  hold  him  to  it.  Do  not  let  him 
forge  ahead  into  a  rack  or  a  trot,  or  fall  back  into  a  walk. 

"Now  that  your  horse  has  shown  that  he  can  go  along 
nicely  in  the  slow-pace  we  will  rack  down  that  smooth  road 
ahead  which  is  not  too  soft  on  its  surface — for  the  rack  is 
rather  a  hard  gait  on  a  horse  and  the  going  can  easily  be 
too  soft  for  him.  You  have  him  on  the  curb;  increase  the 
pressure  a  little,  give  him  the  leg — that  is,  grip  him  with 
your  knees  so  that  he  will  feel  the  clasp — and  give  him  the 
spur.  A  horse  is  taught  to  rack  by  spurring  him  forward 
and  curbing  him  back;  he  then  flies  into  what  may  be 
called  a  'condensed  trot' — which  is  a  good  description  of  the 
rack.  A  racking  horse  must  go  up  against  the  curb,  and 
above  all  things  he  must  not  be  allowed  to  fall  into  the 
swinging  side-wheel  pace.  If  he  falters  touch  him  with 
the  spur  and  lift  him  gently  on  the  bit  to  steady  him.  Do 
not  gouge  him  or  rip  him.  Spurs  should  be  used  thus  for 
punishment  only  in  the  most  extreme  necessity.  A  willing 
horse  will  soon  learn  to  respond  instantly,  when  he  feels 
the  heel  move  backward  to  his  flank,  even  before  he  is 
touched  with  the  steel. 

"Let  us  now  drop  out  of  the  rack.  Release  the  curb  reins, 
teach  him  to  slow  down  at  the  word  'steady,'  and  come 
down  easily — generally  through  a  running-walk — into  the 
walk.  We  now  want  to  stir  up  our  livers  a  bit,  and  hence 
will  trot  over  that  stretch  of  road  ahead  of  us.  Of  course 
we  could  have  gone  into  the  trot  from  that  fast  rack  that 
15 


226  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 


we  were  riding;  that  is,  some  horses  could  have  done  it, 
but  the  ordinary  rider  will  do  well  to  go  at  each  gait  from 
the  flat-foot  walk,  except  when  stealing  into  the  rack  from 
the  slow-pace.  Our  horses  have  had  a  brief  breathing  spell 
and  are  ready  for  the  trot. 

"Take  your  horse  on  the  snaffle  entirely;  do  not  lug  on 
both  curb  and  snaffle,  as  so  many  do  who  try  to  ride  with 
double  rein  but  have  never  learned  how.  'Cluck'  to  him, 
and  as  he  prepares  to  start  off  begin  to  post — that  is,  rise 
in  the  saddle.  If  your  horse  is  'on  an  edge'  in  his  gaits  he 
will  trot.  Sometimes  he  will  make  a  mistake  and  start  out 
on  a  'jiggle.'  Bring  him  immediately  to  a  walk  and  try 
again.  •  As  you  give  him  the  word  this  time  reach  forward 
and  with  your  right  hand  grasp  him  by  the  mane  well  up 
on  the  neck.  If  he  does  not  trot  then  he  has  forgotten  his 
early  lessons  and  needs  to  be  worked  with.  Some  trainers 
give  the  signal  to  trot  by  pulling  an  ear;  this  is  anything 
but  sightly.  It  is  bad  enough  to  have  to  pull  the  mane, 
but  to  twist  and  pull  at  the  ear  in.  the  attempt  to  start  a 
horse  on  a  trot  is  a  trick  that  ought  never  to  be  taught. 
The  thoroughJy  broken  horse  should  trot  when  he  is  taken 
on  the  snaffle  and  touched  on  the  neck  with  hand  or  crop. 
This  is  getting  down  to  a  fine  point,  but  that  is  just  where 
it  ought  to  be. 

"If  you  were  riding  with  single  curb-rein  bridle  you 
would  probably  have  to  take  hold  of  the  mane  and  hold  it 
for  a  few  seconds  while  you  begin  to  post.  The  user  of  the 
double-rein  has  the  advantage;  his  signal  to  trot  can  scarce- 
ly be  noticed.  This  is  desirable,  as  the  less  fuss  and  flurry 
in  changing  gaits  the  better.  When  your  horse  strikes  a 
square  trot  hold  him  on  the  snaffle  and  make  him  work  up 
to  it.  Do  not  let  him  sprawl  along  in  an  extended  trot,  as 
in  harness.  Keep  him  in  hand;  keep  his  legs  working  un- 
der him,  and  post  just  as  little  as  need  be  to  catch  the  mo- 
tion of  the  horse.  Do  not  rise  so  high  in  the  saddle  at  every 
step  that  a  man  could  throw  a  yellow  dog  by  the  tail  under 
you. 

"Well,  is  your  liver  sufficiently  agitated  for  this  time? 
Let  us  slow  down  then  and  walk  a  bit.  We  may  even  loaf 
a  while  and  let  the  horses  take  care  of  themselves,  but  it 
is  well  not  to  fall  into  the  habit  of  it,  as  the  horse  will 
quickly  learn  to  want  his  own  way  in  everything.  And  now 
for  the  canter,  the  most  graceful  and  enjoyable  gait  when 
perfectly  performed.  Take  your  horse  in  hand.  Let  him 
know  that  the  loafing  time  is  ended.  Pull  him  together  un- 
•  til  his  legs  are  under  him;  balance  him,  and  take  him  on 
the  curb  lightly,  lean  forward  a  bit,  and  salute  him  with 


OF 


VERSITY   ) 

OF 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  || 

OF 


HUNTEKS,    HACKS,   POLO    PONIES.  227 

the  right  hand.  That  is,  raise  your  right  hand  so  that  he 
may  see  it.  If  he  does  not  'catch  on,'  snap  your  fingers.  A 
well  broken  horse  will  at  once  bound  into  a  canter.  An 
educated  saddler  rarely  forgets  this  signal. 

"We  have  set  forth  the  code  of  signals  in  ordinary  use  by 
southern  trainers  of  saddle  horses.  Of  course  there  are 
variations.  All  horses  will  not  respond  to  all  of  these 
signals.  A  horse  has  some  individuality  and  a  mind  of  its 
own  as  well  as  a  man.  In  that  event  something  else  that  he 
does  comprehend  readily  is  tried.  But  by  all  means  teach 
your  horse  to  change  his  gaits  at  your  will  and  not  his." 

THREE-WAITED  SADDLE  HORSES, 
HUNTERS,  HACKS.  POLO  PONIES. 

Walk,  trot  and  canter  are  the  three  gaits  in 
die  ordinary  variety  of  saddle  horse.  All  horses 
go  these  gaits  naturally,  but  it  is  a  great  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  any  horse  which  is  broken 
to  ride  is  a  "plain-gaited"  saddler.  Far  from 
it ;  the  three-gaited  riding  horse  has  his  qualifi- 
cations as  unmistakably  as  the  park  horse. 
These  qualifications  are  briefly  summed  up  as 
follows :  He  must  be  ' i  a  horse  in  front  of  you, ' ' 
which  means  that  he  must  have  sloping  shoul- 
ders and  a  long  well  poised  neck;  he  must  be 
short  and  strong  in  his  back,  powerful  in  his 
quarters;  he  must  be  light  in  his  forehand, 
and  he  must  stand  higher  in  front  than  behind. 
If  he  is  made  after  this  fashion  there  will  be  a 
resiliency  of  motion  to  his  progress  which 
makes  for  the  comfort  of  the  rider  and  the  en- 
durance of  the  horse.  Straight  shoulders,  short 
necks  and  heavy  heads  are  very  objectionable. 
Proper  mouthing  and  mannering  are  as  essen- 
tial in  the  three-gaited  as  in  the  five-gaited  sad- 
dler. 

It  does  not  make  much  difference  how  this 


228  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

sort  of  a  saddle  horse,  if  'to  be  used  for  ordinary 
pleasure  riding,  is  bred,  but  of  course  the  more 
good  blood  he  has  in  his  veins  the  longer  will 
he  last,  the  faster  will  he  get  over  the  ground 
and  the  more  agreeable  mount  will  he  prove  in 
general. 

Conspicuous  in  this  group  of  riding  horses  is 
the  hunter,  but  as  no  great  place  exists  for  him 
in  our  western  equine  economy  much  space  need 
not  be  devoted  to  him.  The  job  of  the  hunter  is 
to  carry  a  human  being  safely  over  the  coun- 
try, galloping  fast,  jumping  fences  and  water  as 
he  conies  to  them  and  staying  over  a  distance  of 
many  miles.  There  are  only  a  few  districts  in 
the  United  States  where  hunting  is  possible, 
only  a  few  packs  of  foxhounds  and  consequently 
the  home  demand  for  hunters  is  quite  circum- 
scribed. Buyers  for  export  to  England  keep 
an  eye  out  for  horses  of  the  right  stamp  for 
this  business  at  leading  American  markets  and 
many  a  good  western-bred  animal  has  followed 
the  hounds  on  the  other  side  in  recent  years. 

Usually  hunters  are  the  get  of  Thoroughbred 
stallions,  though  not  always,  but  whenever  the 
sire  is  not  clean  Thoroughbred  he  is  very  near- 
ly so.  The  blood  is  required  to  grant  the  neces- 
sary speed  and  stamina.  The  type  is  well  por- 
trayed in  the  illustration — wiry,  powerful  and 
of  the  "  varmint "  order.  Hunting  is  a  harder 
business  than  racing.  The  negotiation  of  such 
obstacles  as  board  fences,  hedges,  stone  walls, 
high  banks  with  or  without  deep,  wide  ditches 
on  one  side  or  other  of  them,  and  wide  stretches 
of  water,  continually  recurring  in  runs  of  all 


HUNTERS,    HACKS,  POLO    PONIES.  229 

distances  up  -to  perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty  miles, 
requires  a  high  order  of  intelligence,  stamina 
and  much  education.  It  is  small  wonder  then 
that  high-class  hunting  horses  bring  very  long 
prices. 

Hunters  are  of  two  classes — light  and  heavy- 
weight carriers,  the  dividing  line  being  fixed  at 
about  160  pounds.  This  is  to  say  that  a  horse 
capable  of  doing  well  over  a  country  carrying 
a  man  weighing  less  than  160  pounds  is  called 
a  light-weight  hunter,  and  one  that  can  carry 
more,  a  heavy-weight  hunter.  Of  course  the 
more  weight  a  horse  can  pack  away  in  the  sad- 
dle, go  fast  and  stand  up  under,  the  more  valua- 
ble he  is. 

The  hack  is  merely  a  pleasant  riding  horse, 
good  looking  along  the  lines  already  described 
and  able  to  get  over  the  ground  at  a  lively  pace. 

The  polo  pony  commands  high  prices.  He 
must  stand  14.2  hands  or  under  and  he  must 
have  speed,  great  intelligence  and  an  aptitude 
for  dodging,  swerving  and  wheeling  around  on 
a  dead  run.  The  game  of  polo,  in  which  he  is 
used,  is  a  most  exciting  sport.  It  is  played  with 
four  men  on  a  side,  each  armed  with  a  long- 
handled  mallet,  and  the  object  is  to  drive  a 
wooden  ball  between  goal  posts.  It  is  essen- 
tially a  rich  man's  game,  and  long  prices  are 
paid  for  ponies  of  the  requisite  size,  speed, 
courage  and  adroitness  of  motion.  Some  of 
the  best  polo  ponies  in  'the  world  are  bred  on 
American  ranches.  The  very  best  are  got  by 
Thoroughbred  stallions  and  reared  under  suit- 
able conditions  of  treatment  and  care.  Often, 


230  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 

too,  cow  ponies  of  the  ordinary  variety  make 
excellent  polo  mounts.  The  illustration  shows  a 
team  mounted  on  such  ponies  bred  in  Colorado. 
The  training  and  general  aptitude  for  the  game 
are  more  essential  to  the  receipt  of  large  prices 
than  good  looks,  though  all  things  being  equal 
the  best  looking  sell  for  the  most  money.  A 
small  but  lucrative  business  is  done  by  a  few 
dealers  in  picking  up  suitable  ponies  on  the 
range,  breaking  and  mannering  them,  and  then 
offering  them  as  'the  finished  article.  The  polo 
pony,  however,  is  a  negligible  quantity  so  far 
as  the  farmer  is  concerned. 

SHETLAND,  WELSH  AND  OTHER 
PONIES. 

Almost  every  country  has  its  types  of  ponies. 
Their  name  is  legion.  Some  of  these  may  be 
dignified  by  the  names  of  breeds  and  indeed  a 
few  of  them  possess  distinguishing  character- 
istics which  some  authorities  claim  entitle  them 
to  distinction  as  separate  species  of  the  horse. 
Prof.  Cossar  Ewart  has  of  late  years  made  some 
extended  investigations  which  lead  him  to  dig- 
nify certain  of  the  Scotch  types  as  distinct 
varieties  if  not  species.  The  Celtic  pony  is  one 
of  them.  These  facts  are  mentioned  as  bearing 
on  whether  all  ponies  are  degenerate  horses  or 
whether  some  of  them  at  least  have  always  been 
as  small  as  they  are  now.  It  would  serve  no 
good  purpose  to  enter  into  the  arguments  which 
have  been  advanced  on  this  subject.  It  will 
suffice  to  say  that  Prof.  Ewart's  investigations 
point  quite  conclusively  to  diminutive  size  be- 


f<>- 

'.'TY 


SHETLAND    AND    WELSH    PONIES.  231 

ing  in  some  instances  at  least  a  varietal  if  not 
a  specific  characteristic. 

Britain  has  many,  and  all  northern  Europe 
is  studded  with  different  breeds  and  types.  Asia 
possesses  many  distinct  sorts  and  even  South 
Africa  has  its  peculiar  variety.  In  Canada  and 
the  United  States  the  various  pony  strains, 
such  as  the  Chincoteague  and  Sable  Island,  can 
not  be  classed  as  breeds,  though  distinguishing 
homologous  character  is  becoming  more 
marked.  These  American  strains  are  surely 
degenerate  horse  reduced  in  size  and  altered 
in  conformation  to  suit  their  environment. 

Best  known  of  all  the  breeds  of  ponies  in  the 
United  States  is  the  Shetland.  This  breed  is 
indigenous  to  the  Shetland  Isles,  lying  off  the 
extreme  north  coast  of  Scotland  and  distant  not 
much  over  350  miles  from  the  Arctic  circle. 
How  long  these  ponies  have  existed  on  those 
islands  history  does  not  record,  nor  yet  tradi- 
tion, but  we  have  authoritative  statement  that 
they  were  there  in  their  present  size,  or  smaller, 
in  1700.  Eeared  under  constant  hardships  im- 
posed by  nature  in  her  most  unrelenting  mood, 
the  breed  from  the  time  it  was  first  written 
about  has  been  famous  for  its  utility,  strength 
and  endurance.  Its  original  use  was  for  riding, 
packing  and  work  in  coal  pits,  where  its  small 
stature  and  phenomenal  strength  enabled  it  to 
thread  the  low  galleries  and  drag  great  weight 
of  coal  to  the  shaft. 

Extremely  docile  in  temperament,  the  Shet- 
land was  early  transplanted  to  the  richer  en- 


232  THE    HOKSE   BOOK. 

vironment  of  the  mainland  of  Scotland  and 
England.  In  addition  to  its  more  menial  duties 
a  use  was  soon  found  for  the  Shetland  as  the 
pet  and  plaything  of  children,  and  in  later  years 
this  has  become  almost  wholly  the  sphere  of  its 
activities.  Importation  of  Shetlands  to  this 
country  began  in  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury and  on  the  kindly  soil  of  many  states  it 
has  taken  root  and  flourished  amazingly.  Natu- 
rally on  the  rich  lands  of  .the  cornbel't  there  has 
been  some  trouble  experienced  to  keep  it  from 
growing  too  large,  but  the  breeders  by  selection 
and  the  wise  regulations  of  the  stud  book  have 
kept  the  size  down  most  acceptably.  Shetland 
ponies  over  11.2  hands  or  46  inches  high  can 
not  be  registered  as  pure-bred. 

Hap-hazar<l  matings  in  this  country  have  not 
done  the  breed  any  good.  In  an  effort  also  to 
keep  the  size  down  some  breeders  have  made 
use  of  ultra-diminutive  stallions  irrespective  of 
their  individuality,  with  the  result  that  too 
often  we  find  them  "sheepy"  in  conformation 
and  lacking  in  style,  finish  and  action.  On  the 
other  hand  s'ome  breeders  have  demonstrated 
conclusively  that  even  on  the  richest  soil  Shot- 
lands  may  be  bred  quite  small  enough  and  at 
the  same  time  little  aristocrats  from  nose  to 
heels.  Thick,  rotund  bodies,  neat  heads,  well- 
risen  crests  and  short  legs  neither  bucked  in  the 
knees  nor  set  in  the  hocks  are  points  after  which 
the  best  breeders  strive.  The  more  action  both 
of  knee  and  hock  the  better,  but  it  is  hard  to  get. 
At  that  the  market  for  Shetlands  has  of  late 


SHETLAND    AND    WELSH    PONIES.  233 

absorbed  all  offerings  good,  bad  and  indiffer- 
ent. The  seal  of  approval  has  been  set  on  the 
Sheltie  by  -the  American  people,  his  extreme 
docility,  picturesque  appearance  and  trust- 
worthiness giving  him  the  best  sort  of  a  recom- 
mendation as  a  child's  mount. 

All  colors  known  in  horseflesh  are  'to  be  found 
among  the  Shetlands,  gray  and  roan  being  by 
far  the  most  scarce.  Piebald  and  skewbald  in 
all  the  various  combinations  of  bay,  brown, 
black,  chestnut  and  white  are  common  and  so 
are  duns,  mouse-colors,  bays,  chestnuts,  browns 
and  blacks.  The  ponies  of  the  Faroe  Islands 
and  Iceland  run  much  to  parti-col'ors  and  it  is 
unquestionable  that  some  of  'those  strains  have 
been  mixed  with  the  Shetlands  both  in  Scotland 
and  in  this  country,  but  not  of  later  years. 
These  two  types  differ  markedly  from  the  Shet- 
land in  conformation,  'that  of  the  latter  being 
infinitely  preferable.  The  pony  in  the  frontis- 
piece is  the  champion  of  the  breed  in  Scotland ; 
the  American  champion  is  the  second  from  the 
end  in  the  group  of  four.  It  will  be  observed 
that  there  is  some  slight  difference  in  the  type 
favored  here  and  in  Caledonia. 

The  Welsh  pony,  the  only  other  pony  breed 
for  which  a  stud  book  exists  in  this  country,  is 
of  great  antiquity — a  little  larger  than  the 
Shetland,  a  little  better  set  up  about  the  head 
and  neck  and  generally  a  better  actor.  Many 
of  the  Welsh  ponies  have  a  considerable  degree 
of  speed,  which  is  perhaps  to  be  accounted  for 
in  the  fact  that  in  a  very  early  day  small  Nor- 
folk Trotters  were  crossed  into  the  breed  on  the 


234  THE    HOBSE   BOOK. 

i 

hills  of  Wales.  Not  all  Welsh  ponies,  however, 
show  the  effects  of  this  cross.  The  prevailing 
colors  are  bay  and  brown.  Efforts  have  been 
made  of  late  to  form  a  breed  of  Welsh  cobs  by 
mating  the  pony  mare  with  the  Hackney  and 
some  excellent  results  have  followed  the  work 
of  the  breeders  in  both  England  and  Wales. 
The  Welsh  mountains  form  about  as  bleak  and 
barren  a  territory  as  any  in  which  ponies  are 
bred,  but  the  breeders  are  going  forward  with 
concerted  'aim  and  still  further  improvement  in 
this  type  is  confidently  to  be  expected. 

EANGE  HOESES. 

As  'there  were  no  horses  on  the  American  con- 
tinent at  the  time  of  its  discovery  it  follows 
that  all  the  so-called  wild  horses  of  the  plains 
must  originally  have  sprung  from  Spanish 
stock.  The  spread  of  the  American  wild  horse, 
so-called,  must  have  been  from  the  Eio  Grande 
northward,  and  shape,  color  and  size  were  as- 
sumed according  to  locality.  The  cay  use  or 
Indian  pony  may  fairly  be  accepted  as  the  abo- 
riginal type  of  the  horse  of  the  American  plains. 
We  all  know  him.  A  perfect  prodigy  of  en- 
durance in  himself  he  has  yielded  readily  to  at- 
tempts at  improvement  wherever  they  have 
been  made  and  he  is  now  not  nearly  so  numer- 
ous as  he  was  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago, 
but  we  will  always  have  him  with  us. 

Gradually  as  settlers  crossed  the  continent 
the  range  horse  grew  into-  existence.  Individ- 
uality and  speed  superior  to  that  possessed  by 
the  cayuse  were  required  when  the  herds  of 


EANGE    HOUSES.  235 

range  cattle  began  to  take  on  extended  propor- 
tions, and  each  cattle  baron  strove  to  breed  a 
line  of  cow  ponies  that  would  serve  him  well 
under  any  and  all  circumstances.  The  necessity 
of  the  situation  developed  a  strain  of  hardy, 
fleet  ponies,  capable  of  sustaining  great  effort 
and  hardship  on  scanty  rations — the  cow  pony, 
of  no  particular  breeding  as  a  mass,  yet  pos- 
sessing stamina  second  to  none.  Running  at 
will  on  the  open  range,  the  production  of  these 
ponies  was  governed  by  the  inexorable  law  of 
natural  selection  in  so  far  as  their  environment 
was  concerned.  All  sort  of  stallions  were 
turned  loose  on  the  range,  picked  up  their  bands 
of  mares  and  got  them  with  foal.  The  progeny 
fended  for  itself,  survived  or  dropped  out  as 
the  case  might  be,  leaving  only  the  best  to 
reach  maturity.  In  time  the  holdings  of  the 
range  breeders  became  very  great  and  prices 
of  both  the  broken  and  the  unbroken  were  very 
low  compared  to  what  native-bred  horses 
brought  farther  east.  The  supply  was  limitless, 
the  use  practically  limited  to  cowpunching. 

Desultory  improvement,  attempted  with  pure- 
bred stallions  of  the  meanest  sort,  proved  that 
it  was  no  great  trick  to  engraft  the  individual- 
ity of  almost  any  pure-bred  sire  on  the  ranger. 
But  the  price  to  be  obtained  for  the  unbroken 
progeny  was  so  low  that  most  of  the  rangemen 
bought  only  stallions  for  which  they  had  to  pay 
trivial  prices.  It  would  not  pay,  they  said,  to 
put  much  money  into  stallions  to  turn  out  on 


236  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

the  range.  A  few  breeders  followed  a  saner 
policy  and  these  have  succeeded  in  making  much 
money.  Then  just  about  the  time  some  impres- 
sion was  being  made  on  the  ranger  by  the  use 
of  pure-bred  stallions,  the  depression  of  the 
early  nineties  hit  the  business  so  hard  that  it 
was  impossible  to  get  any  sort  of  a  remunera- 
tive price  for  a  range-bred  horse.  Commission 
men  at  wholesale  centers  refused  to  accept  con- 
signments as  the  horses  would  not  realize 
freight  and  commission  charges.  Then  an  en- 
terprising genius  established  a  cannery  in  Ore- 
gon and  thousands  of  horses  were  slaughtered 
and  made  up  into  salt  meat  for  export.  From 
$1  to  $2.50  was  paid  per  head  and  the  owners 
thought  themselves  lucky  to  get  so  much. 

Not  being  worth  anything,  range  horses  re- 
ceived no  attention  at  all  until  Great  Britain 
went  to  work  to  crush  the  Boer  rebellion  in 
South  Africa.  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  agents 
scoured  the  range  country  from  the  Bio  Grande 
to  the  Yellowstone,  paying  what  seemed  enor- 
mous prices  for  everything  able  to  carry  a  sol- 
dier. Times  were  looking  up  in  the  range  horse 
business.  Owners  rounded  up  their  bands  and 
sold  them  off  as  closely  as  they  could.  It  was 
a  good  riddance  of  bad  rubbish.  Times  im- 
proved. Horses  became  scarce  in  the  East  and 
prices  began  to  climb  skyward.  Then  it  was, 
some  four  or  five  years  back,  that  the  few 
breeders  who  had  kept  at  the  work  of  improve- 
ment came  into  their  own.  Offerings  of  draft- 
bred  range  horses  were  eagerly  snapped  up  by 


RANGE    HORSES.  237 

the  carload.  The  attention  of  the  breeders  was 
turned  to  the  possibilities  of  the  business. 
Bands  were  collected  and  culled.  A  better  class 
of  draft  and  other  stallions  was  purchased  and 
more  sensible  methods  of  breeding  adopted. 

Wherever  any  persistent  effort  at  improve- 
ment by  the  draft  route  had  been  made  a  rich 
harvest  of  profit  was  reaped.  Breeders  who 
had  piled  two,  three  or  four  crosses  of  pure 
draft  blood  on  either  a  native  or  a  range  foun- 
dation received  prices  not  previously  dreamed 
•of.  It  was  found  that  pure-breds  could  be  pro- 
duced on  the  range  and  perpetuate  their  charac- 
teristics with  great  prepotency.  Free  grazing 
was  constricted.  It  became  a  choice  of  fewer 
and  better  or  get  out  of  the  business.  The  net 
result  today  is  that  all  draft-bred  range  horses 
are  bringing  unprecedented  prices,  as  high  as 
$161  having  been  paid  per  head  for  four-year- 
old  geldings  and  mares  by  the  carload  of  twenty 
head,  unbroken,  but  weighing  in  grass  flesh 
from  1,350  to  1,500  pounds.  Unfortunately 
many  of  the  breeders,  despite  the  success  which 
they  have  achieved,  are  for  the  most  part  still 
pursuing  the  short-sighted  policy  of  using  in- 
ferior stallions.  A  disinclination  to  pay  the 
price  for  a  high-class  breeding  horse  seems  in- 
grained in  the  business,  tho'iigh  evidence  that 
the  best  pay  the  highest  dividends  is  by  no 
means  wanting. 

In  short  the  range  horse  breeding  business  is 
on  a  most  prosperous  footing  at  the  present 
time.  The  extraordinary  development  of  the 


238  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

western  country — railroad,  irrigation,  lumber- 
ing and  urban  construction  work — has  absorbed 
every  available  horse  of  size  on  the  northwest- 
ern range,  prices  increasing  according  to  the 
weight  offered.  This  has  induced  breeders  to 
take  better  care  of  their  mares  and  young 
things  and  still  greater  betterment  in  this  di- 
rection must  inevitably  follow  increase  in 
values.  High-class  carriage  and  driving  horses, 
too,  are  being  produced  on  the  range  and  the 
cow  pony  flourishes  and  brings  prices  double 
and  treble  those  he  brought  in  the  good  old  days 
when  the  cattle  barons  trailed  their  beef  herds 
hundreds  of  miles  to  a  loading  point.  It  does 
not  seem  that  the  cornbelt  can  soon  produce  a 
supply  of  drafters  sufficient  to  its  own  and  the 
needs  of  the  East.  It  will  be  a  long  time  before 
the  Pacific  Coast  states  can  breed  a  sufficiency. 
The  outlook  is  surely  rosy  enough  to  warrant 
the  range  breeders  in  making  use  of  much  bet- 
ter stallions  than  they  have  hitherto  purchased. 

THREE    FAMOUS    STALLIO'NS. 

In  a  reminiscent  article  written  for  THE 
BREEDER'S  GAZETTE  I  cited  as  the  three  greatest 
celebrities  of  the  Clydesdale,  Shire  and  Per- 
cheron  breeds  the  stallions  McQueen,  Holland 
Major  and  Gilbert.  This  was  from  a  show 
yard  point  of  view  exclusively,  but  in  point  of 
general  usefulness  to  the  Percheron  breed  Bril- 
liant must  be  substituted  for  Gilbert.  Holland 
Major  and  the  famous  black  stallion  that  made 
so  much  of  Oaklawn's  early  reputation  have 


THREE  FAMOUS  STALLIONS.  239 

long  ago  joined  the  silent  majority,  but  Mc- 
Queen is  still  hale  and  hearty. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  good  photographs  of 
Holland  Major  and  Brilliant  are  not  extant. 
In  those  rather  distant  days  the  art. of  animal 
portraiture  by  the  camera  was  not  developed  as 
it  is  now,  but  the  picture  of  Brilliant  is  of  his- 
toric interest,  as  it  is  by  Rosa  Bonheur.  The 
photograph  of  McQueen  was  taken  when  he  was 
in  his  twenty-third  year. 

Holland  Major  was  the  standard  for  the  aged 
Shires  in  the  American  show  ring .'f or  many 
years.  All  the  other  importers  bore  him  in 
mind  when  scouring  England  for  a  horse  that 
could  win.  He  was  a  Shire  of  much  quality  and 
well  nigh  perfect  in  conformation  with  the  ex- 
ception of  his  rather  effeminate  neck  and  head. 
George  E.  Birown  who  owned  him  never  gave 
him  a  chance  in  the  stud  until  death  mercifully 
removed  the  brown  stallion  Elcho,  to  which  Mr. 
Brown  pinned  his  faith  for  many  years.  When 
he  did  get  his  chance  in  the  stud  Holland  Major 
made  good.  His  progeny  was  not,  however, 
numerous  and  his  services  to  the  breed  must  be 
chronicled  as  having  consisted  mo-re  in  his  ex- 
traordinary show  yard  career  than  in  his  great- 
ness as  a  sire.  He  was  foaled  in  1882  and  won 
the  championship  at  the  Columbian  in  1893— 
his  crowning  triumph  on  the  tan-bark. 

Brilliant  belonged  to  a  somewhat  earlier  era, 


240  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

having  been  foaled  in  1876.  He  was  imported 
in  1881,  and  it  may  truthfully  be  said  of  him 
that  he  founded  a  family  in  the  Percheron 
breed  the  like  of  which  the  history  of  no  other 
draft  strain  records.  His  sons  and  his  grand- 
sons topped  their  classes  with  striking  uni- 
formity and  his  blood  has  been  doubled  and 
twisted  upon  itself  in  the  most  extraordinary 
mixture  of  in-breeding  and  line-breeding  that 
has  no  parallel  in  draft  horse  breeding.  He 
was  never  a  great  horse  individually— even 
Rosa  Bonheur's  picture  does  not  show  him  to 
have  been  that— but  he  bred  extraordinarily 
well.  Not  only  did  his  sons  become  celebrated 
in  the  stud,  but  his  mares  did  likewise,  and  I  am 
sure  there  are  many  horsemen  who  will  agree 
with  me  when  I  say  that  his  daughters  were 
superior  as  a  band  to  those  of  any  other  Per- 
cheron stallion  they  have  ever  known. 

McQueen  was  foaled  May  15,  1885,  was  im- 
ported in  1887  to  Canada  and  to  this  country 
the  same  year.  His  career  in  the  show  ring 
extended  from  that  fall  to  the  Columbian,  and 
he  never  met  defeat  in  his  class  and  only  once 
in  a  championship.  Premier  in  the  Blairgowrie 
stud,  his  get  were  synonyms  for  youthful 
Clydesdale  excellence  and  they  kept  coming 
from  foalhood  to  maturity.  Blairgowrie  had 
only  a  few  mares  at  the  most  and  McQueen  be- 
got comparatively  few  foals  in  the  United 
States.  His  percentage  of  prize  winners  is,  not- 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THREE  FAMOUS  STALLIONS. 


241 


withstanding,  higher  than  that  of  any  horse  I 
know.  In  1899  McQueen  was  returned  to  Can- 
ada and  his  career  in  the  Cairnbrogie  stud 
there  since  then  is  worthy  of  notice  as  showing 
how  much  money  may  be  made  out  of  a  really 
successful  getter  even  at  a  moderate  fee.  In  the 
season  of  1899  he  covered  182  mares  and  got 
94  colts  at  a  fee  of  $15  to  insure.  The  next 
season  his  fee  was  raised  to  $20  and  has  re- 
mained in  that  notch  ever  since.  Since  1900  he 
has  never  covered  less  than  200  mares  and  his 
smallest  quota  of  foals  was  123.  Here  are  the 
figures :  1900,  mares  covered  214,  foals  127 ; 
1901,  mares  223,  foals  147;  1902,  mares  204, 
foals  133;  1903,  mares  209,  foals  141;  1904, 
mares,  261,  foals  172;  1905,  mares  217,  foals 
123;  1906,  mares  208,  foals  142— a  grand  total 
of  eight  seasons,  1,717  mares  covered  and  1,078 
foals.  As  he  stood  at  $15  to  insure  in  1899  he 
earned  $1,410  that  season,  and  in  the  seven 
following  years  he  begot  984  foals  at  $20  each, 
amounting  to  $19,680— a  grand  total  of  $21,090 
for  his  eight  seasons'  work.  Verily  he  merits 
the  title  I  bestowed  upon  him— "  The  Matchless 
McQueen." 

These  figures  are  of  much  value  as  showing 
that  an  old  horse  may  be  capable  of  doing  ex- 
tensive and  excellent  work  in  the  stud  and  that 
a  really  good  getter  is  -a  gold  mine. 


16 


PART  III. 

HYGIENE,  UNSOUNDNESS,  DISEASE. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  book  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  point  out  that  certain  things  must  be 
done  with  horses  in  order  to  keep '  them  in 
health.  In  this  chapter  I  have  no  intention  of 
specifically  invading  the  domain  of  the  veteri- 
narian. It  would  be  easy  enough  to  explain 
didactically  the  methods  of  treatment  which 
should  be  employed  in  stated  diseases  if  one 
could  but  be  sure  that  every  case  would  devel- 
op alike,  and  the  advice  would  be  valuable  if 
every  reader  was  an  accurate  diagnostician.  It 
is  hopeless,  however,  to  anticipate  such  an  ideal 
condition  and  hence  I  make  no  effort  to  pre- 
scribe generally  remedies  and  methods  of  treat- 
ment. My  experience  shows  me  that  the  best 
thing  to  do  when  a  horse  gets  sick  is  to  send 
for  some  well  qualified  practitioner  and  let  him 
say  what  is  to  be  done.  There  are  a  few  rem- 
edies of  standard  merit  which  may  be  used 
without  any  danger  and  to  much  advantage— 
remedies  which  I  have  proved  to  be  satisfac- 
tory—and the  formulae  for  them  are  detailed  in 
their  proper  places. 

A  horse  is  a  robust  animal,  easy  to  keep  in 
health  by  the  exercise  of  ordinary  common 

242 


HYGIENE,  UNSOUNDNESS,  DISEASE.  243 

sense.  Epizootic  and  infectious  diseases  will 
invade  stables  despite  all  efforts  to  keep  them 
out  and  most  colts  have  a  siege  of  strangles, 
which  is  the  correct  name  for  the  malady  gen- 
erally known  as  distemper.  It  is  indubitably 
owing  to  the  outdoor  life  he  leads  that  the  horse 
is  practically  immune  from  tuberculosis.  He  is 
forced  in  working  to  be  outside  and  to  breathe 
deep  the  free  air  of  heaven.  The  exercise  he 
is  made  to  take  in  the  harness  also  keeps  his 
digestive  apparatus  working  nicely,  so  long  as 
he  is  not  over  or  underfed,  so  long  as  his  food 
is  wholesome  and  is  not  suddenly  changed. 
Highly  organized,  the  horse  resists  the  ravages 
of  disease  in  a  remarkable  manner,  and  the 
characteristic  action  of  drugs  is  readily  ob- 
tained upon  him.  At  that  he  is  a  complicated 
subject.  It  takes  a  long  time  to  learn  about  his 
structure  and  it  is  admitted  that  accurate  diag- 
nosis in  diseases  of  the  horse  is  harder  to  make 
than  it  is  in  the  human  subject. 

As  an  all  too  frequent  rule  too  much  med- 
icine is  given  to  horses.  Some  veterinarians 
seem  to  have  nothing  short  of  a  mania  for  or- 
dering large  doses  of  various  combinations  of 
drugs  given  often.  Nature  should  be  given  a 
chance.  The  drug  of  itself  is  worth  nothing 
except  that  it  gives  the  system  a  chance  to  work 
out  its  own  salvation.  Farmer-breeders  also 
have  a  craze,  it  seems,  for  feeding  condition 
powders,  stock-foods  and  other  compounds  to 


244  THE   HOUSE   BOOK. 

their  horses  indiscriminately,  irrespective  of 
whether  the  animals  are  doing  well  or  the  re- 
verse. If  a  horse  is  out  of  condition  or  sick 
the  remedies  administered  should  be  those 
which  have  been  proved  to  be  curative  under 
similar  circumstances.  This  "doping"  a  horse 
with  a  lot  of  different  drugs,  whether  in  the 
form  of  a  stock-food,  condition  powder  or  any- 
thing else,  is  all  wrong.  A  shotgun  prescrip- 
tion never  yet  effected  a  cure.  I  am  not  much 
of  a  believer  in  proprietary  "dope"  anyway. 
A  few  of  these  proprietary  remedies  are  of 
standard  and  meritorious  efficacy,  but  many  of 
them  are  worthless.  I  suggest  that  those  who 
desire  to  discover  much  about  the  composition 
of  patent  remedies,  designed  for  the  human  as 
well  as  the  equine  subject,  purchase  the  book, 
"Secret  Nostrums  -  and  Systems,"  by  the  late 
Dr.  Charles  Oleson.  Dr.  Oleson  was  a  friend  of 
mine  and  to  my  certain  knowledge  devoted  a 
great  deal  of  time  and  care  to  collecting  the 
data  presented  in  his  most  interesting  work. 

Among  farm  animals  the  horse  is  the  only 
one  which  is  immune  from  tuberculosis,  and 
the  manner  of  his  life  is  conceded  to  be  that 
which  grants  him  his  immunity.  He  is  out  al- 
most always  by  day  and  often  at  night.  Pigs 
and  cattle  are  too  often  closely  confined  in- 
doors. Sheep,  which  suffer  little  from  tuber- 
culosis, are  also  animals  which  live  outdoors. 
The  lesson  of  this  is  that  all  stables  in  which 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,    DISEASE.  245 

farm  animals— not  merely  horses  alone— are 
housed  should  be  amply  ventilated,  with  ade- 
quate provision  for  the  egress  of  the  foul  air 
and  the  ingress  of  the  fresh  air  from  outdoors. 
I  can  well  remember  in  my  early  days  in  the 
West  when  stables  were  shells  and  the  blizzards 
fierce.  The  horses  which  lived  and  grew  old 
in  those  miserable  sheds  throve  and  worked 
and  were  healthier  than  their  pampered  rel- 
atives of  today,  which  are  kept  in  barns  which 
are  palaces  in  comparison  to  those  old  prairie 
shacks.  Horses  will  stand  a  great  degree  of 
cold  without  injury. 

Provide  free  ventilation,  shutting  off  draughts 
of  course.  Rather  let  the  barn  be  cold  and 
freely  ventilated,  so  that  the  supply  of  pure 
air  is  constant,  and  use  blankets  on  the  horses, 
than  coop  them  up  in  close  premises  where  the 
air  that  has  been  breathed  once  must  be 
breathed  over  and  over  again.  Systems  of  ven- 
tilation for  stock  stables  of  all  kinds  have  been 
brought  to  the  point  of  perfection.  No  farmer 
has  longer  an  excuse  for  keeping  his  animals  in 
foul  quarters.  On  the  whole  I  do  not  favor 
underground  or  bank  stables  for  horses.  I 
would  rather  have  them  up  on  the  level.  Bank 
barns  are  usually  dark  and  damp.  Stinlight 
and  oft-changed  air  are  the  great  destroyers 
of  filth  germs.  It  has  been  stated  before  in  a 
previous  chapter,  but  it  will  bear  repetition: 
stable  litter,  outside  of  the  dirt  of  the  city 


246  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

street,  is  the  most  prolific  of  noxious  germ  life 
of  all  known  substances.  In  damp,  dark,  dirty 
stables  germ  life  multiplies  at  a  rate  altogether 
incomprehensible  to  the  average  human  mind. 
Let  in  the  air  and  sunlight.  Those  are  the  best 
disinfectants.  It  should  hardly  be  necessary 
to  enjoin  on  all  horse  keepers  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  cleansing  the  stalls  freely  at  frequent 
intervals  and  of  keeping  a  supply  of  absorbent 
bedding  to  take  up  the  liquids  voided  by  farm 
animals.  Horse  manure  in  summer  is  the  fa- 
vorite breeding  place  for  flies.  At  all  seasons 
of  the  year,  when  not  in  the  light  it  fairly  teams 
with  noxious  microbic  life. 

Cleanliness  in  every  department  of  the  stable 
should  be  insisted  on.  Majigers  should  be  kept 
clean  at  all  times.  Notwithstanding  this,  it  is 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule  to  find  them 
so.  Corn  on  the  ear  is  a  very  general  food  for 
farm  horses.  The  kernels  are  bitten  off  the 
cobs  and  the  latter  are  left  in  the  feedbox, 
covered  with  saliva  and  therefore  most  fertile 
media  for  the  propagation  of  germs  of  all  sorts. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  no  uncommon  sight  to  see 
farm  help  shove  the  cobs  out  of  the  box  into 
the  manger,  where  they  lie  and  sour  and  take 
up  room  until  they  get  to  be  troublesome  when 
they  are  thrown  down  into  the  stall  and  finally 
find  their  way  into  the  manure  pile.  Slovenly 
methods  of  this  variety  should  have  no  place  in 
the  management  of  an  up-to-date  stable  on  the 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  247 

farm  or  anywhere  else.  Take  the  cobs  out  at 
each  feed  and  burn  them.  They  make  good  in 
the  cook-stove  or  heater.  Similarly  stems  and 
trash  should  always  be  cleaned  out  of  the  hay 
rack.  A  horse  noses  over  his  roughage  quite 
a  good  bit.  What  he  leaves  should  be  taken 
away  from  his  head  at  least.  Mashes  fed  in  the 
feedbox  leave  a  lot  of  dampness  behind  them 
and  as  a  consequence  the  box  gets  sour,  which 
is  equivalent  to  saying  that  germs  are  prop- 
agating apace.  Iron  mangers  are  the  best,  but 
expensive.  If  the  feedboxes  are  of  wood,  feed 
mashes  in  galvanized  iron  buckets.  Keep  the 
feedboxes  dry  and  let  the  sunlight  get  to  them 
if  possible,  any  way  much  light. 

Pine  makes  most  unsatisfactory  stable  fit- 
tings. Beech  wood,  owing  to  its  close  and 
cranky  grain,  is  by  far  the  best  when  it  is  avail- 
able. Horses  love  to  gnaw  pine,  and  once  they 
get  into  the  habit,  no  matter  what  is  originally 
the  cause,  they  are  hard  to  stop.  Usually,  how- 
ever, horses  get  to  chewing  mangers  and  board 
fences  because  they  are  not  salted  or  fed 
enough.  This  is  not  always  true,  but  it  most 
generally  is.  Often,  too,  horses  undergoing  the 
troubles  of  dentition  will  seek  surcease  from 
troubling  in  gnawing  wood.  The  beech  wood 
fittings,  stripped  with  strap  iron,  or  better  still 
iron  fittings,  are  the  best  remedy,  though  after 
all  most  wooden  stalls  get  chewed  more  or  less 
with  the  lapse  of  time  and  many  changes  of 
tenants. 


248  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

I  do  not  like  concrete  floors  for  horses  to 
stand  on.  Concrete  is  cold  and  absorbs  heat 
quickly.  A  floor  of  the  kind  makes  what  the 
Scotch  call  "cold  lying "  for  any  animal.  The 
best  floor  for  standing  stalls  is  made  of  con- 
crete with  a  portable  floor  of  narrow  slats 
nailed  to  cross-pieces  of  about  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness. This  sort  of  a  floor,  plentifully  bedded, 
permits  the  liquids  voided  to  pass  readily  away. 
The  concrete  floor  should  of  course  have  some 
slight  slope  on  this  account,  but  never  much. 
A  horse  likes  to  stand  with  his  head  uphill  a 
little  bit.  In  boxstalls  the  best  floor  is  hard 
clay— clay  that  will  make  good  bricks.  Lay 
a  foundation  of  coarse  gravel  and  then  tamp 
down  four  to  six  inches  of  clay.  Nothing  is 
much  more  abominable  in  a  stable  than  a  floor 
of  rotten  old  planks  half -worn  through  and  the 
decomposing  urine  oozing  upward  whenever 
the  horse  steps  around.  No  amount  of  good 
bedding  can  counteract  the  hurtful  effect  of 
such  filth. 

Recurring  again  to  the  necessity  of  having 
stables  well  ventilated  and  well  lighted,  let  the 
windows  be  large  and  many.  Never  under  any 
circumstances  place  a  little  cubby  aperture 
directly  in  front  of  each  horse's  head.  Thou- 
sands of  barns  have  been  spoiled  and  thousands 
of  horses  have  been  ruined  by  this  senseless, 
though  fortunately  now  obsolete  method  of  ven- 
tilating and  lighting  a  stable.  Make  the  doors 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  249 

plenty  large  enough  and  have  screens  for  both 
doors  and  windows  for  use  in  summer.  Keep 
the  grain  in  a  feed  room  and  make  incessant 
war  to  the  death  on  rats  and  mice.  Likewise 
keep  chickens  away  from  the  horse  stable. 
Chicken  lice  appear  to  thrive  and  multiply 
amazingly  on  horses  and  the  annoyance  they 
cause  and  the  flesh  they  destroy  are  in  propor- 
tion. Show  me  a  farm  where  the  fowls  and  the 
horses  young  and  old  hob-nob  continually  and 
I  will  show  you  a  lousy  lot  of  stock.  This  is 
perhaps  a  homely  and  inconsequential  point  in 
the  estimation  of  some  folks,  but  it  pays  well 
to  keep  stock  of  all  kinds  free  from  parasites. 
In  a  previous  chapter  the  necessity  of  feed- 
ing clean  grain  and  roughage  to  horses  has  been 
emphasized.  To  this  end  an  oats  cleaner  should 
be  installed  and  every  pound  of  the  grain  fed 
should  pass  through  that  most  useful  contriv- 
ance. Oats  may  look  to  even  the  practiced  ob- 
server to  be  nice  and  clean  and  free  from  the 
contamination  of  seeds  that  are  worthless  for 
feed,  and  trash  of  various  sorts,  but  the  same 
practiced  observer  will  often  be  astounded, 
when  a  bushel  of  the  grain  has  been  run  through 
the  cleaner,  to  see  the  great  heap  of  hurtful  mat- 
ter that  has  been  eliminated.  The  awns  of  the 
oats,  bits  of  straw,  fragments  of  binding  twine, 
leaves  of  weeds  and  a  multiplicity  of  weed  seeds 
will  show  up  in  far  greater  volume  than  was 
anticipated.  These  by-products  of  the  oat  har- 


250  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

vest  may  advantageously  be  burned.  If  they 
are  fed  to  the  horse  the  trash  will  reduce  the 
feeding  value  of  his  ration  and  the  seeds  will 
go  through  him  whole,  to  be  carted  off  with  the 
manure,  scattered  on  the  ground  and  in  time 
reproduce  their  kind.  Good  clean  oats,  as  has 
been  stated  before,  contains  about  18  pounds  of 
husk  and  14  pounds  of  kernel  to  the  measured 
bushel,  supposing  that  the  same  weighs  32 
pounds.  If  there  is  a  lot  of  other  innutritions 
matter  in  the  feed,  the  proportion  of  nutriment 
to  the  whole  amount  fed  is  reduced  in  just  that 
proportion. 

Every  season  there  is  more  or  less  immature 
or  soft  corn  on  every  farm— some  years  more, 
some  years  less.  There  never  was  a  year  yet 
when  the  frost  did  not  get  somebody's  corn 
patch.  This  immature  corn  is  of  course  left 
on  the  stalks  as  long  as  possible  and  then 
the  freeze-up  comes  and  the  ears  look  hard 
enough.  Husking  is  done  and  the  corn  goes 
into  the  crib.  By  and  by  the  heating  process 
takes  place  and  the  corn  becomes  moldy.  Per- 
haps continued  cold  may  keep  the  ears  looking 
well  enough,  but  the  mold  is  there  just  the  same 
and  its  germs  spring  into  life  as  soon  as  the 
damaged  grain  reaches  the  equine  stomach.  If 
there  is  one  thing  that  is  worse  than  another 
for  horses  in  the  way  of  feed  it  is  moldy  grain. 
It  should  never  be  fed  to  them.  If  it  is  Hob- 
son's  choice— soft  corn  or  go  without— then 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  251 

my  advice  is  to  spend  money  for  good  horse- 
feed.  It  will  pay.  True,  thousands  of  horses 
have  eaten  moldy,  half-rotten  corn  and  got 
away  with  it  all  right,  but  enough  have  been 
killed  by  such  alimentation  to  have  bought  good 
feed  for  them  and  all  the  rest  and  left  a  hand- 
some balance  on  the  credit  side  of  the  general 
ledger.  Oats  that  have  heated  in  the  stack  and 
have  sweated  out  quite  dry  and  free  from  dust 
—which  is  a  rare  combination,  by  the  way- 
may  be  fed  with  little  fear  of  evil  results.  When 
they  are  dusty  they  are  to  be  avoided,  though 
oats  that  have  not  been  properly  matured  or 
cured  are  not  nearly  as  hurtful  as  moldy  soft 
corn.  It  is  not  always  possible  for  the  farmer 
to  feed  just  exactly  what  is  best,  but  the  point 
to  be  emphasized  is  that  whenever  such  a  thing 
is  possible  only  the  cleanest  and  best  grain 
should  be  fed  to  horses. 

Immense  barns  in  which  great  quantities  of 
grain  and  hay  are  stored  and  many  animals 
housed  are  not  the  most  advantageous.  The 
risk  of  total  destruction  by  fire  is  too  great. 
On  well  regulated  breeding  farms,  where  the 
stallions  are  worth  many  thousands  of  dollars, 
you  never  find  them  stabled  in  a  large  struc- 
ture-. It  costs  more,  of  course,  but  a  small 
stable  for  the  work  horses  is  infinitely  prefer- 
able to  any  part  of  a  huge  structure  that  looks 
fine  from  the  road  and  is  liable  with  its  con- 
tents to  go  up  in  smoke  any  time  some  old 


252  THE    HOBSE   BOOK. 

tramp  comes  along.  It  never  was  good  policy 
to  put  the  whole  batch  of  eggs  in  one  basket. 
Horses  are  proverbially  chuckle-headed  in  a 
fire.  I  have  in  mind  a  splendid  big  barn  that 
was  the  pride  of  a  great  farm  and  was  con- 
structed in  accordance  with  the  plans  of  a 
noted  builder.  An  immense  amount  of  hay  and 
grain  was  stored  in  its  capacious  loft  and  in 
the  boxstalls  on  the  ground-level  many  mares 
and  foals  were  quartered.  It  went  afire— how 
no  one  ever  knew — and  life  was  risked  to  get 
out  the  animals.  The  men  who  liberated  the 
first  four  mares  and  foals  neglected  to  close 
the  doors  after  them.  Three  mares  and  four 
foals  dashed  back  into  the  blazing  structure 
and  were  cremated. 

On  the  ruins  of  this  palatial  barn  arose  one 
still  grander  in  its  proportions  and  equip- 
ment. The  insurance  companies,  which  made 
good  many  thousands  of  dollars  for  the  build- 
ing burned,  were  consulted  absolutely  as  to  the 
plans.  A  handsomer  structure  than  the  new 
barn  there  was  not  in  one  of  the  most  populous 
and  best  farmed  counties  in  a  great  state,  yet 
it  burned  to  the  ground  in  a  short  time  after 
it  was  put  into  commission.  Had  the  same 
amount  of  money  been  utilized  to  construct 
several  smaller  stables  the  loss  could  have  been 
confined  to  one  of  them.  Besides  it  is  easier 
to  provide  for  the  thorough  lighting  and  ven- 
tilation of  small  stables  than  it  is  for  large 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  253 

ones.  In  every  instance,  wherever  it  is  possi- 
ble, light  a  stable  at  night  by  electricity.  With 
the  spread  of  the  inter-urban  railway  it  is  in 
many  places  possible  now  to  obtain  the  service 
of  the  electric  current  at  small  cost. 

A  manure  heap  at  the  door  of  a  stable  is  an 
abomination.  Experiments  have  proved  that  it 
is  most  profitable  from  a  fertilizing  point  of 
view  to  haul  manure  to  the  field  and  spread  it 
as  soon  after  it  is  made  as  it  can  be  accom- 
plished, but  whether  that  is  done  or  not,  get 
the  litter  far  away  from  the  stable/  With  a 
great  festering  manurial  sore  right  at  the  very 
door  of  their  dwelling  horses  cannot  be  expect- 
ed to  be  and  remain  as  healthy  as  they  would 
be  with  the  stenches  and  flies  and  microbic  life 
such  dumps  breed  removed  far  from  them. 
Keep  the  footing  in  front  of  the  stable  well 
graveled,  dry  and  free  from  accumulations  of 
every  sort. 

In  a  previous  chapter  the  rearing  and  feed- 
ing of  young  horses  and  the  care  of  brood 
mares  have  been  gone  into  at  length.  Such  stock 
needs  dry  quarters  and  to  be  kept  out  of  the 
mud.  Therefore  it  is  the  poorest  sort  of  pol- 
icy to  let  horses  plow  through  muddy  fields  of 
cornstalks.  Keep  them  in  the  dry.  If  it  be 
necessary  to  use  cornstalks  as  roughage,  either 
feed  the  stalks  whole  on  dry  footing  and  spread 
over  a  large  area  or  have  them  shredded  and 
feed  in  racks.  Horses  can  stand  almost  any 


254  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

degree  of  cold,  but  they  do  not  thrive  in  the 
rain.  Give  them  good  shelter  always.  Close 
confinement  is  bad  for  any  horse,  more  espe- 
cially in  his  younger  days.  If  he  is  kept  up 
closely  his  feet  will  grow  awry  somehow,  un- 
due strain  will  be  put  on  some  part  or  other 
and  unsoundness  will  develop  as  the  inevitable 
result. 

Tracing  the  life  history  of  the  horse  from 
foalhood  to  maturity  we  find  that  the  first  thing 
he  is  likely  to  encounter  is  joint  disease  (om- 
phalo  phlebitis)  due  to  germ  infection  at  the 
navel.  Usual  symptoms  of  this  dread  malady 
are  droopiness,  listlessness  and  swelling  of  the 
joints.  Protrusion  of  the  intestines  in  the  re- 
gion of  the  navel  (umbilical  hernia)  is  also  com- 
mon, the  apparent  swelling  being  soft  and  capa- 
ble of  reduction  by  gentle  manipulation  with 
the  fingers,  forcing  the  intestines  back  into 
their  proper  place.  In  both  of  these  cases  the 
services  of  a  veterinarian  should  be  requisi- 
tioned as  quickly  as  possible.  Joint  disease 
is  greatly  to  be  feared  and  for  that  reason  a 
condition  of  the  utmost  cleanliness  should  be 
provided  when  a  mare  foals. 

As  a  yearling  strangles  is  about  the  next  thing 
a  colt  will  encounter.  Like  children  and  mea- 
sles, few  colts  get  away  without  a  spell  of  this 
trouble.  This  is  a  disease  which  is  contagious 
and  which  runs  a  well  defined  course,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  and  usually  a  benign  one.  It  is  a 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  255 

peculiar  disease.  Sometimes  it  will  break  out, 
seemingly  sporadically,  on  one  farm,  attack  the 
young  horses  on  it  and  die  out  without  farther 
invasion  of  neighboring  properties.  At  other 
times  it  will  take  a  whole  countryside  at  a 
sweep.  When  a  colt  is  coming  down  with 
strangles,  he  coughs  huskily,  his  throat  is  sore, 
and  he  has  some  difficulty  in  swallowing.  He 
sticks  his  head  out  and  sometimes  there  is  con- 
siderable fever  and  sometimes  very  little.  Some- 
times the  afflicted  animal  will  keep  on  eating 
and  sometimes  he  will  refuse  all  food.  Later 
there  comes  a  swelling  between  the  jaws  which 
in  time  will  burst  and  relief  will  then  follow. 
Irregular  strangles  exists  when  abscesses  form 
in  parts  of  the  body  other  than  between  the 
jaws.  In  such  cases  there  is  much  danger  of 
blood  poisoning.  In  all  instances  summon  the 
practitioner  and  let  him  treat  each  case  as  its 
needs  indicate.  As  a  rule  good  nursing,  keeping 
the  patient  comfortable,  the  administration  of 
stimulants  and  coaxing  the  appetite  to  the  limit 
will  do  more  than  medication,  though  it  takes 
the  veterinarian  usually  to  say  when  medicine 
should  or  should  not  be  given.  Purgatives 
should  never  be  administered  to  colts  suffering 
from  strangles. 

Worms  are  often  troublesome  to  both  colts 
and  horses.  Many  veterinarians  use  turpentine 
in  two-ounce  doses  administered  in  half  a  pint 
of  linseed  oil,  the  horse  having  been  fasted  for 


256  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 

ten  or  twelve  hours  or  more.  Other  practition- 
ers insist  that  there  is  little  virtue  in  this  rem- 
edy. Colts  running  loose  may  be  given  free 
access  to  a  "lick"  consisting  of  equal  parts  of 
common  salt,  ground  gentian,  sulphur  and  dried 
sulphate  of  iron.  Wild  horses  which  can  not  be 
dosed  may  be  given  a  tablespoonful  of  this  mix- 
ture in  the  feed  daily  for  ten  days,  then  drop  it 
off  for  a  similar  period  and  repeat.  This  rem- 
edy should  not  be  administered  to  pregnant 
mares. 

At  almost  any  stage  of  his  existence  a  horse 
is  liable  to  colic.  A  sudden  change  of  food, 
damaged  grain,  watering  immediately  after  eat- 
ing and  a  half-dozen  other  causes  may  be  as- 
signed for  colic,  which  is  of  two  kinds— flatu- 
lent and  spasmodic.  There  is  not  a  whole  lot  of 
difference  between  the  two,  but  in  flatulent  colic 
the  horse  will  bloat  considerably,  owing  to  the 
presence  of  gas  inside  him  and  he  will  be  con- 
tinually in  pain.  In  spasmodic  colic  the  pain  is 
recurrent.  In  both  the  horse  will  look  round 
at  his  flanks,  paw,  lie  down,  get  up  again  and 
repeat.  In  his  spells  of  ease  the  horse  with 
spasmodic  colic  will  often  appear  quite  com- 
fortable. Both  are  the  result  of  indigestion 
and  complications  are  frequent.  It  is  said  that 
more  horses  die  with  colic  than  with  any  other 
disease  in  the  entire  list  of  those  to  which  they 
are  subject.  Hence  it  is  wise  always  to  get  the 
veterinarian  whenever  possible  and  as  promptly 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,    DISEASE.  257 

as  may  be.  Primary  symptoms  of  impaction 
and  inflammation  of  the  bowels  are  much  the 
same  as  those  of  colic.  However,  if  the  services 
of  a  practitioner  are  not  immediately  available 
the  following  remedy  may  be  administered  in 
any  case  of  colic  pending  his  arrival : 

Turpentine  one  ounce,  canabis  indica  one-half 
ounce,  alcohol  four  ounces,  water  one  pint. 
Shake  well  and  give  as  one  dose.  A  bottle  con- 
taining this  mixture  may  with  profit  be  kept  in 
every  stable  from  which  the  residence  of  a  vet- 
erinarian is  far  removed. 

Founder  (laminitis)  has  many  causes,  but  a 
primary  essential  is  a  deranged  condition  of 
the  digestive  organs.  The  blood  stagnates  in 
the  very  tender  structures  of  the  front  feet  and 
sets  up  acute  inflammation.  As  the  structures 
affected  are  confined  within  the  horny  box  of  the 
hoof,  intense  pain  is  caused.  There  is  not  much 
use  for  any  layman  to  bother  with  a  newly 
foundered  horse.  Invoke  professional  advice, 
but  first  get  the  horse  down  off  his  feet  and  into 
some  sort  of  a  comfortable  recumbent  position. 
Time  and  again  I  have  seen  men  who  should 
have  known  better  force  foundered  horses  to 
stand  up,  when  every  ounce  of  pressure  on  the 
feet  meant  untold  agony  and  comparative  com- 
fort ensued  when  the  animals  were  forced  to  lie 
down.  Usually  under  prompt  and  skillful  treat- 
ment the  horse  may  be  relieved  in  a  compara- 
tively short  time,  but  in  cases  that  are  neglected 

17 


258  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

or  not  treated  properly  chrome  laminitis  en- 
sues. In  such  cases  the  soles  of  the  feet  come 
down  and  the  horse  walks  on  his  heels,  being 
practically  worthless.  Even  this  condition  is 
not  incurable  for  I  have  known  a  horse  whose 
soles  were  very  badly  down  recover  under  he- 
roic treatment  and  later  go  as  sound  as  ever  he 
did.  It  is  doubtful  if  it  would  pay  to  go  to  so 
much  trouble  and  expense  with  the  general  run 
of  horses  suffering  from  chronic  founder.  I 
mention  this  case  to  show  that  within  my  per- 
sonal experience  chronic  founder  has  been  cured 
and  the  lowered  soles  of  the  feet  elevated  to 
their  normal  position. 

Azoturia  has  become  more  common  of  late 
years  than  it  was  in  the  days  when  horses  were 
not  as  highly  fed  as  they  are  now.  Cause  of 
this  malady  is  continued  high  feeding  of  grain 
during  suddenly  enforced  idleness.  A  horse, 
commonly  working  hard,  may  be  kept  in  the 
stable  for  a  couple  of  days  and  be  given  his 
usual  ration  of  grain  without  any  exercise.  On 
being  hooked  up  again  he  will  start  off  blythely, 
but  after  a  short  part  of  the  road  has  been  cov- 
ered he  will  come  to  a  standstill,  break  out  in  a 
profuse  sweat  and  stagger  to  a  fall.  The  cause 
of  the  disease  is  simply  that  in  idleness  the 
eliminatory  channels  have  not  been  able  to  re- 
move the  waste  matter  from  the  system.  It 
takes  exercise  to  develop  the  malady  and  an  in- 
fallible symptom  is  the  dark,  almost  black,  color 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  259 

of  the  urine.  When  a  horse  goes  down  with  this 
trouble,  keep  him  as  quiet  as  possible.  Do  not 
move  him.  Get  the  veterinarian  and  the  first 
thing  he  will  do,  if  he  knows  his  business,  is  to 
empty  the  bladder.  Thereafter  the  treatment 
must  be  governed  by  the  indications  of  the  case 
and  is  too  intricate  to  be  attempted  save  under 
the  guidance  of  the  practitioner.  To  avoid  at- 
tacks of  the  kind  see  to  it  either  that  horses 
are  regularly  exercised  or  that  when  they  must 
be  idle  their  rations  of  grain  are  very  greatly 
reduced. 

Overheating  is  commoner  in  cities  than  in  the 
country.  Attacks  of  this  kind  are  brought  on 
by  working  horses  too  hard  on  very  hot  and 
humid  days,  but  there  never  was  a  case  of  the 
kind  known  where  the  horse  was  not  suffering 
from  some  form  of  indigestion.  It  is  extraor- 
dinary what  degrees  of  fever  may  be  discov- 
ered in  badly  overheated  horses.  I  saw  a  case 
last  summer  where  the  temperature  ran  up  to 
110°  and  of  course  dissolution  supervened 
speedily. .  Usual  symptoms  are  that  the  horse 
will  o^ry  up  if  sweating,  lag  behind  his  mate  if 
in  a  team,  stagger  and  go  down  with  a  crash, 
the  common  verdict  being  "sunstroke."  It  is 
not  sunstroke,  but  exhaustion.  The  best  thing 
to  be  done  is  to  turn  the  hose  on  the  horse  and 
play  the  water  all  over  his  body.  This  cools 
off  the  tissues,  the  force  of  the  water  materially 
aiding  this  process.  In  default  of  the  hose  get 


260  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 

cold  water  to  him  somehow  in  great  volume. 
When  he  arrives  the  veterinarian  will  adminis- 
ter stimulants. 

Influenza  is  a  malady  peculiar  to  the  horse 
and  is  caused  by  a  specific  germ.  Its  symptoms 
are  largely  the  same  as  in  strangles  and  com- 
plications quite  likely.  In  this  disease  the  mu- 
cous membranes  of  the  eyelids  are  quite  fre- 
quently enlarged  and  inflamed,  giving  rise  to 
the  name  of  pinkeye,  by  which  it  is  frequently 
designated.  Get  the  veterinarian.  Pneumonia 
is  now  attributed  to  a  specific  germ  and  is  known 
to  run  a  regular  course,  favorable  termination 
being  dependent  largely  on  the  degree  of  re- 
sistance developed  by  the  patient.  Usual  symp- 
toms are  that  the  horse  is  dull,  will  not  lie  down, 
will  not  eat  and  the  membranes  of  the  eyelids 
and  nostrils  are  highly  colored.  The  tempera- 
ture rises  and  if  the  ear  is  held  to  the  ribs  a 
rough  grating  sound  is  heard  in  the  lungs.  The 
horse  stands,  with  his  head  poked  out  in  front 
of  him  and  inclined  downward.  If  he  holds  his 
head  up  he  has  not  got  pneumonia.  When  these 
symptoms  are  observed,  blanket  the  horse 
warmly,  bandage  his  legs  and  summon  profes- 
sional assistance. 

Heaves  are  caused  by  feeding  too  much  in- 
nutritious,  bulky,  moldy  or  otherwise  damaged 
food,  watering  habitually  immediately  after 
eating  and  putting  to  work  too  soon  after  meals. 
While  heaves  affect  the  breathing  of  a  horse, 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  261 

the  tissue  of  the  lung  undergoes  no  material 
change.  The  active  cause  seems  to  be  a  de- 
ranged condition  of  the  pneumo-gastric  nerve. 
Once  fairly  established  heaves  are  incurable, 
though  the  condition  of  the  animal  may  be  ma- 
terially improved  by  feeding  oats  straw  in  place 
of  hay,  and  only  a  little  of  it,  and  good  bright 
oats,  wetting  all  food,  watering  before  meals, 
never  afterwards,  and  permitting  a  rest  of  at 
least  an  hour  after  the  food  is  eaten.  A  little 
flaxseed  jelly  fed  with  the  oats  is  also  beneficial 
and  Fowler's  solution  of  arsenic  ^does  more 
good  than  any  other  drug  that  may  be  admin- 
istered. The  use  of  this  remedy  should,  how- 
ever, be  deferred  as  long  as  possible,  as  its  ef- 
fect is  cumulative  and  it  can  not  be  given  con- 
tinuously. An  ounce  a  day  is  the  maximum  dose 
which  may  be  given  and  it  should  be  tapered  off 
gradually  when  it  is  desired  to  stop.  At  that, 
the  condition  of  the  horse  will  not  be  improved 
when  the  effects  of  the  drug  have  worn  off. 
There  are  many  so-called  heave  cures.  Some 
will  give  temporary  relief.  A  permanent  cure 
is  an  impossibility. 

Whistling  or  roaring  is  caused  by  increase  in 
size  of  the  laryngeal  cartilages  and  the  conse- 
quent diminution  of  the  passage  through  which 
the  air  may  be  expelled  from  the  lungs.  The 
only  possibility  of  a  cure  lies  in  the  removal  of 
the  distended  cartilages  by  surgical  operation— 
laryngectomy— but  that  is  a  most  unsatisfac- 


262  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 

tory  and  uncertain  operation  at  the  best.  In 
cases  of  cough  it  is  always  wise  to  consult  the 
veterinarian.  The  affection  may  be  local  and 
it  may  be  a  symptom  of  pneumonia  or  some 
other  malady. 

A  horse's  teeth  will  frequently  require  atten- 
tion. The  grinding  surfaces  are  prevented  from 
coming  together  by  jagged  projections  and  the 
food  is  not  properly  masticated  and  ensali- 
vated.  The  result  is  a  staring  coat  and  general 
lack  of  thrift.  In  such  cases  the  veterinarian 
will  file  or  "float"  the  teeth  into  normal  con- 
dition and  the  horse  will  make  proper  use  of 
his  food. 

Periodic  ophthalmia  or  moon-blindness  is 
common  enough  among  farm  horses.  It  is  first 
observed  when  the  eyelids  are  seen  to  droop, 
tears  run  freely  and  the  horse  keeps  the  eye 
closed  as  much  as  possible.  The  eyeball  at  first 
has  a  dull,  rather  opaque  appearance  and  grad- 
ually becomes  covered  with  a  light-colored 
scum.  One  eye  or  both  may  be  affected,  or  the 
trouble  may  move  from  one  eye  to  the  other. 
If  left  to  itself  the  eye  in  the  first  attacks  will 
clear  up  in  ten  days  or  two  weeks,  but  the  trou- 
ble will  inevitably  return  sooner  or  later.  There 
is  no  cure  for  moon-blindness.  When  it  ap- 
pears put  the  horse  in  a  darkened  stall,  cover 
the  eyes  with  wet  cloths  and  obtain  expert  ad- 
vice. The  first  treatment  will  usually  serve  as 
an  example  for  all  the  rest,  but  in  the  end  the 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  263 

horse  will  go  blind  in  spite  of  all  that  may  be 
done  for  him. 

Wounds  of  greater  or  less  severity  are  of  fre- 
quent occurrence  among  farm  horses.  It  makes 
a  good  deal  of  difference  where  the  wound  is 
and  how  it  was  made,  but  there  should  be  no 
great  trouble  in  healing  one  up  if  common  sense 
is  used.  A  wound  of  any  magnitude  should  be 
submitted  to  the  attention  of  a  veterinary  sur- 
geon. If  it  is  a  clean  cut  he  will  sew  it  up  after 
cleansing  it  thoroughly  and  it  will  often  heal 
without  farther  trouble  or  as  they  'say  by  the 
first  intention.  Jagged  wounds,  such  as  often 
result  from  contact  with  barb-wire,  need  not  be 
sewn  up,  for  the  partially  isolated  fragments 
will  slough  anyway.  Deep  or  punctured  wounds, 
caused  by  snags  and  the  like,  are  the  hardest 
to  heal  and  almost  invariably  suppurate  and 
discharge  pus,  healing  from  the  bottom.  The 
surgeon  will  probe  such  wounds  for  foreign 
bodies,  syringe  out  the  cavity  with  an  anti- 
septic lotion  and  be  governed  by  future  devel- 
opments as  to  his  further  treatment. 

In  different  localities  and  at  different  seasons 
of  the  year  wounds  take  on  curious  aspects. 
Invasion  of  germs,  development  of  proud  flesh 
and  fungous  growths  cause  so  many  vagaries 
in  their  history  that  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down 
specific  directions  that  will  fit  all  cases.  How- 
ever, one  thing  is  certain.  The  worst  that  can 
be  done  to  a  wound  of  any  sort  is  to  be  eternally 


264  THE    HOBSE   BOOK. 

fussing  at  it  with  soap  and  water.  That  com- 
bination should  always  be  kept  away  from  a 
wound  after  the  first  cleansing  has  been  ac- 
complished, and  the  laceration  dressed.  If  the 
cut  or  tear  is  small  the  daily  application  of  a 
little  carbolic  lotion  (teaspoonful  carbolic  acid, 
water  one  quart),  or  some  good  coaltar  dip  as 
directed  on  the  container,  will  be  all  that  is 
needed.  In  more  severe  cases  the  surgeon  on 
the  spot,  or  fully  advised  of  the  conditions, 
alone  is  competent  to  prescribe  intelligently. 

Fistula  of  the  withers  is  caused  by  a  bruise 
of  the  tissues  of  the  part  named,  perhaps  by 
the  saddle,  or  collar,  sometimes  in  mares  by  the 
bite  of  the  stallion  during  coition,  and  indeed  in 
any  way  in  which  a  bruise  may  be  inflicted. 
Sometimes  fragments  of  the  processes  of  the 
backbone  are  broken  off.  The  result  of  such  a 
bruise  is  that  pus  forms  deep  in  the  tissues  and 
burrows  along,  forming  pipes.  Symptoms  are 
swelling  and  intense  pain.  A  fistula  is  a  very 
nasty  thing  to  deal  with  and  no  one  who  does 
not  thoroughly  understand  it  should  attempt 
to  affect  a  cure  himself. 

Spavins,  ringbones,  sidebones,  curbs  and 
navicular  disease  are  the  commonest  unsound- 
nesses  of  the  bony  structure  of  the  legs.  Spavins 
are  bony  growths  on  the  inside  of  the  hock  and 
low  down  upon  it.  This  bony  growth  or  exos- 
tosis  interferes  with  the  working  of  the  joint 
and  the  play  of  the  tendons  over  it.  There  are 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  265 

many  cures  advertised  to  remove  the  lame- 
ness caused  by  a  spavin  and  also  the  bony 
growth,  but  nothing  short  of  a  chisel  and  a 
mallet  will  perform  that  latter  feat.  Ring- 
bones  are  likewise  bony  growths  appearing  on 
the  upper  and  lower  pastern  bones,  more  fre- 
quently on  the  hind  extremities  than  the  front. 
Firing  and  blistering  comprise  the  treatment 
most  likely  to  succeed  in  removing  the  lameness 
in  both  cases.  Sidebones  are  ossified  lateral 
cartilages  in  the  fore  feet.  The  lateral  carti- 
lages spring  from  the  wings  of  the  pedal  bone 
and  in  their  normal  condition  are  designed  to 
aid  in  taking  up  the  concussion  caused  by  the 
contact  of  the  foot  with  the  ground.  The  side- 
bone  takes  away  this  aid  to  resilience  and  lame- 
ness supervenes  after  a  time.  There  is  not 
much  that  can  be  done  to  cure  lameness  caused 
by  sidebones,  but  in  certain  stages  of  their  de- 
velopment the  cartilages  may  be  amputated  and 
the  horse  get  along  very  comfortably  for  a 
time. 

Curbs  are  caused  by  the  pulling  apart  of  the 
fibres  of  the  sheath  of  the  tendon  on  the  hind 
leg  right  on  the  back  of  the  hock  not  far  below 
its  point.  Blistering  and  friction  are  the  usual 
methods  employed  to  reduce  the  enlargement 
and  cure  the  lameness  consequent  on  the  rup- 
ture of  the  fibres  as  described.  Navicular  dis- 
ease is  caused  by  a  roughening  of  the  sesamoid 
bone  over  which  the  large  tendon  plays  at  the 


266  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 

back  of  the  coffin  or  pedal  bone.  Inflammation 
having  been  set  up  within  the  foot,  the  surface 
of  the  sesamoid  bone  puts  forth  small  projec- 
tions and  the  tendon  playing  over  these,  instead 
of  over  a  perfectly  plain  surface,  creates  in- 
tense pain  and  general  inflammation  of  the 
structures  within  the  hoof.  There  is  no  cure. 
Relief  may  only  be  obtained  by  the  operation 
of  neurectomy,  which  consists  in  the  section  of 
the  nerve  which  insures  sensation  in  the  part 
of  the  foot  affected. 

Bog  spavins  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  bone 
at  all.  They  are  situated  on  the  inside  of  the 
hock  and  take  the  form  of  soft  puffs.  They 
are  caused  by  the  undue  secretion  of  synovia 
or  joint-oil,  which  distends  the  bursa  or  sac 
where  it  is  stored  and  so  the  puff  becomes  vis- 
ible. Many  horses  display  very  large  bog  spav- 
ins and  at  moderate  work  never  go  lame,  while 
at  hard  work  axmte  lameness  frequently  ensues. 
There  is  little  to  be  gained  by  blistering  these 
enlargements,  but  a  skillful  veterinary  surgeon 
may  get  rid  of  both  them  and  the  lameness  by 
a  delicate  operation  with  the  firing  iron. 
Thoroughpins  partake  largely  of  the  same  na- 
ture as  bog  spavins.  They  are  distensions  ap- 
pearing at  the  back  of  the  hock,  well  up  toward 
the  top  of  that  joint.  The  fluid  may  be  pressed 
from  one  side  of  the  joint  to  the  other.  They 
seldom  give  much  trouble  and  are  best  let  alone. 
Splints  are  bony  growths  found  just  below  the 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  267 

knee  on  the  inside  of  the  foreleg.  They  usually 
appear  in  young  horses,  seldom  cause  lameness 
when  the  horse  is  not  overworked  and  are  ab- 
sorbed before  the  horse  reaches  maturity.  It 
seldom  pays  to  bother  with  them,  though  at 
times  they  cause  lameness. 

Sweeney  is  caused  by  the  pressure  of  the 
collar  in  young  horses  mostly  and  results  in 
atrophy  or  wasting  away  of  the  muscles  of  the 
shoulder.  It  is  a  tedious  process  to  restore  the 
muscular  tissues  to  their  normal  condition, 
blistering,  the  insertion  of  setons  and:  the  injec- 
tion of  turpentine  beneath  the  skin  being 
variously  advocated  in  the  treatment  of  this 
trouble.  Collar  galls  are  caused  by  the  bruising 
of  the  tissues  by  the  collar  and  if  net  properly 
attended  to  result  in  the  formation  of  fibroid 
tumors  which  must  be  dissected  out  before  the 
shoulder  may  be  healed  over  smoothly.  Ill- 
fitting  collars  frequently  cause  sitfasts  to  form 
on  top  of  the  neck.  These  are  pieces  of  dead 
skin  closely  adhering  to  the  tissues  beneath  and 
must  also  be  dissected  out.  It  pays  to  have  the 
collars  fit  properly. 

Warts  are  of  frequent  occurrence  about  the 
muzzle  of  the  horse  and  sometimes  they  appear 
on  other  parts  of  his  body.  If  the  warts  are 
broad  and  flat  saturating  them  with  glacial 
acetic  acid  drop  by  drop  daily  for  a  short  time 
will  cause  them  to  disappear  and  the  application 
of  castor  oil  has  the  same  result  in  many  cases. 


268  THE    HOESE   BOOK. 

If  the  warts  spring  from  a  small  neck  they  may 
be  snipped  off  with  sharp  scissors  and  the  spot 
from  which  they  were  cut  seared  to  stop  the 
bleeding.  Or  a  silk  thread  may  be  tied  tightly 
around  the  neck  of  the  wart  and  in  time  it  will 
slough  off. 

Lice  and  diseases  of  the  skin  are  best  com- 
bated by  the  application  of  some  good  coaltar 
dip  diluted  according  to  the  instructions  of  the 
makers.  Care  should  of  course  be  taken  to  wash 
for  lice  or  dip  for  parasitic  skin  disease  during 
pleasant  weather. 

Sores  on  the  legs  of  horses  are  an  almost 
sure  sign  that  systemic  treatment  is  required. 
Scratches  and  cracked  heels  are  no  exception 
to  this  rule.  In  cases  of  scratches  and  cracked 
heels  water  should  never  be  applied.  Keep  the 
parts  dry  at  any  cost.  Apply  a  little  bland 
ointment,  wipe  it  off  night  and  morning  and 
thoroughly  hand-rub  the  parts.  The  friction 
seems  to  be  a  necessary  part  of  successful 
treatment.  In  the  meantime  the  horse's  diges- 
tive apparatus  must  be  put  in  good  working 
order.  Cases  of  grease  heel  are  almost  hope- 
less and  entail  in  the  attempt  to  effect  a  cure  a 
long  continued  course  of  diet  which  includes  no 
grain,  systemic  treatment  and  surgical  opera- 
tion as  well. 

Finally  we  approach  the  subject  of  groom- 
ing and  clipping.  To  a  fine-haired  horse  the 
currycomb  is  an  instrument  of  torture.  Its 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,    DISEASE.  269 

sharp  teeth  cause  him  much  pain  and  irritate 
him  greatly.  The  dirt  may  be  got  out  of  the 
skin  with  the  brush  and  the  currycomb  should 
be  used  to  cleanse  the  brush,  not  the  hide.  In 
coarse-coated  horses  naturally  the  use  of  the 
currycomb  on  the  skin  is  more  or  less  necessary, 
but  it  should  always  be  used  lightly. 

If  horses  in  winter  are  forced  to  work  so 
hard  that  they  must  sweat  freely  and  must 
reach  their  stalls  wet  and  uncomfortable,  they 
should  be  clipped  and  kept  clipped  all  winter. 
A  horse  with  a  long  winter  coat  thoroughly  sat- 
urated with  sweat  will  take  from  four  to  six 
hours  to  dry  out,  the  heat  contained  in  his  grain 
ration  being  thus  diverted  from  its  proper  uses. 
On  the  other  hand  if  he  is  clipped,  rubbed  off 
lightly  when  he  comes  home  and  is  then  blank- 
eted he  will  dry  out  in  half  an  hour,  remain 
warm  all  night  and  his  food  will  be  utilized  to 
repair  wasted  tissue.  If  his  work  is  such  that 
he  does  not  sweat  habitually,  it  does  not  make 
much  difference  how  long  his  coat  is. 

Abortion  is  the  most  deadly  foe  of  the  horse 
breeder.  Whenever  a  mare  slips  her  colt  iso- 
late her  at  once  and  if  the  fetus  can  be  found 
burn  it  or  bury  it  deep  in  quicklime.  Summon 
professional  assistance  promptly  in  order  that 
the  mare  may  be  treated  intelligently  until  the 
parts  resume  their  normal  condition.  No 
breeder  can  afford  to  take  any  chances  with 
abortion.  The  veterinarian  will  flush  out  the 


270  THE   HORSE   BOOK. 

vagina  daily  or  give  instructions  how  it  should 
be  done  with  some  antiseptic  wash.  Mares  which 
abort  and  are  promptly  treated  should 
not  be  bred  again  until  the  proper  period 
after  the  date  at  which  they  would  have 
foaled  had  they  carried  their  young  to 
full  time.  Once  she  has  aborted  a  mare 
is  very  apt  to  repeat  at  about  the  same 
stage  of  a  subsequent  pregnancy.  Care  should 
therefore  be  taken  to  watch  her  closely  about 
that  time  and  she  should  be  kept  as  quiet  and 
free  from  excitement  as  possible.  If  she  shows 
signs  of  approaching  premature  birth  get  ex- 
pert aid  at  once.  Trouble  may  often  be  headed 
off  by  administering  fluid  extract  of  black  haw 
in  half -ounce  doses  every  other  day,  beginning 
perhaps  three  weeks  before  the  time  at  which 
she  may  abort  and  continuing  as  long  after  it. 
It  is  best,  though,  to  place  the  mare  under  the 
care  of  a  veterinarian.  Still  the  black  haw  is  a 
standard  remedy  in  such  cases.  Strong  medi- 
cines should  never  be  given  to  in-foal  mares. 

Discharges  from  the  vagina,  'such  as  leu- 
corrhea  (whites)  should  always  be  treated  by 
injecting  into  the  vagina  some  antiseptic  solu- 
tion, such  as  a  one-per-cent  solution  of  perman- 
ganate of  potash.  Solutions  of  coaltar  dip  are 
also  useful  for  this  purpose,  the  strength  being 
gauged  according  to  the  instructions  of  the 
makers,  and  often  a;  simple  alkaline  solution— 
of  bicarbonate  of  soda  for  instance— will  neu- 


HYGIENE,    UNSOUNDNESS,   DISEASE.  271 

tralize  the  acid  secretions,  clean  up  the  organs 
and  facilitate  conception.  Mares  showing  any 
discharge  from  the  vagina  should  not  be  bred 
until  they  have  been  thoroughly  cleansed  and 
the  discharge  stopped. 

I  have  made  no  effort  in  the  foregoing  chap- 
ter to  cover  more  than  the  commonest  ills  to 
which  horseflesh  is  heir.  I  have  laid  stress  on 
summoning  professional  aid  promptly  because  I 
have  seen  so  much  loss  result  from  a  disinclina- 
tion to  spend  money  on  veterinarians'  fees  and 
a  desire  to  fuss  and  tinker  with  dangerous  cases 
until  too  late.  Then  aid  would  be  summoned 
when  it  was  of  no  use.  It  is  always  best  to 
head  off  trouble  as  soon  as  possible. 


272  THE   HORSE   BOOK. 


APPENDIX. 


STATE  AND  TERRITORIAL  STALLION  SERVICE  LAWS 

Most  of  the  states  now  have  laws  granting  liens  on 
mare  and  foal,  or  both,  resulting  from  the  services  of 
properly  advertised  stallions.  These  laws,  as  an  examina- 
tion of  the  following  pages  will  disclose,  differ  very  ma- 
terially in  the  various  commonwealths.  Stallion  owners 
will  find  it  very  much  to  their  advantage  to  comply  abso- 
lutely with  the  provisions  of  these  laws  as  they  relate  to 
the  obligations  imposed  upon  them,  and  in  all  cases  to 
seek  protection  under  their  terms.  For  a  stallion  owner  to 
file  his  list  of  mares,  in  order  to  perfect  his  liens,  does 
not  imply  distrust  of  his  customers.  Taking  such  action 
is  merely  an  evidence  of  sound  business  sense.  When  the 
lien  is  perfected  those  who  will  not  pay  voluntarily  may 
be  forced  to  pay  and  those  whom  the  stallioner  may  desire 
to  favor  are  none  the  worse  off.  The  wording  of  some  of 
the  statutes  is  not  clear;  in  such  cases  the  advice  of  a 
local  lawyer  should  be  sought. 

ALABAMA. 

"The  owner  of  every  stallion,  jack,  bull,  ram,  he-goat  or 
boar,  who  keeps  it  for  a  profit  and  charges  a  price  for  the 
service  thereof,  shall  have  a  lien,  for  the  amount  of  the 
stipulated  price  therof,  on  any  mare,  jenney,  cow,  ewe, 
she-goat  or  sow,"  to  which  such  'sire  shall  have  been  bred 
and  also  on  the  offspring  born  next  after  such  service.  The 
statute  provides  that  this  lien  shall  be  paramount  over  all 
other  liens,  but  it  has  been  held  to  be  'subordinate  to  a 
prior  recorded  mortgage. 

Upon  filing  bond  and  affidavit  the  sire  owner  may  have 
an  attachment, 

.1.    When  the  claim  Is  due  and  payment  is  refused. 

2.  Whether  the  claim  is  due  or  not,  "when  the  defend- 
ant has  traded  off,  or  otherwise  disposed  of,  or  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  he  is  about  to  trade  off  or  otherwise 
dispose  of,  or  remove  from  the  county,  any  of  the  animals 
on  which  the  lien  exists,  without  paying  the  stipulated 
price  for  such  service." 

ARIZONA. 

There  is  no  regulation  of  the  stallioner's  business  in  Ari- 
zona, and  no  lien  is  given  to  him. 


THE   HOUSE   BOOK.  273 


ARKANSAS. 

"The  owner  of  any  male  animal  kept  for  the  propagation 
of  his  species  shall  have  a  lien  upon  any  female  animal  to 
which  such  male  is  let,  and  the  offspring  of  such  breeding, 
for  the  sum  contracted  therefor,  which  lien  shall  attach  at 
the  time  of  service  of  such  male,  and  shall  not  be  lost  by 
reason  of  any  sale,  exchange,  removal  from  the  county,  or 
other  disposition  of  such  female  animal,  but  upon  such 
sale,  exchange,  removal  or  disposition  without  the  consent 
of  the  person  holding  the  lien,  the  same  may  be  imme- 
diately enforced." 

CALIFOBNIA. 

"Every  owner  or  person  having  in  charge  any  stallion, 
jack  or  bull,  used  for  propagating  purposes,  has  a  lien  for 
the  agreed  price  of  its  service  upon  any  mare  or  cow  and 
upon  the  offspring  of  such  service,  unless -some  wilfully 
false  representation  concerning  the  breeding  or  pedigree 
of  such  stallion,  jack  or  bull  has  been  made  or  published 
by  the  owner  or  person  in  charge  thereof,  or  by  some  other 
person,  at  the  request  or  •  instigation  of  such  owner  or  per- 
son in  charge. 

"Every  claimant  of  a  lien  provided  for  in  the  preceding 
section  must,  within  ninety  days  after  the  service  on  ac- 
count of  which  the  lien  is  claimed,  file  in  the  office  of  the 
county  recorder  of  the  county  where  the  mare  or  cow  sub- 
ject thereto  is  kept,  a  verified  claim  containing  a  particu- 
lar description  of  the  mare  or  cow,  the  date  and  place  of 
service,  the  name  of  the  owner  or  reputed  owner  of  such 
mare  or  cow,  a  description  by  name,  or  otherwise,  of  the 
stallion,  jack  or  bull  performing  the  service,  the  name  of 
the  owner  or  person  in  charge  thereof,  and  the  amount  of 
lien  claimed.  Such  claim,  so  filed,  is  notice  to  subsequent 
purchasers  and  encumbrances  of  such  mare  or  cow  and  of 
the  offspring  of  such  service  for  one  year  after  such  filing. 

"Action  to  enforce  this  lien  may  be  brought  in  any 
county  wherein  any  of  the  property  subject  thereto  may 
be  found,  and  at  the  time  of  issuing  summons  in  such 
action  the  plaintiff  may  attach  the  animals  on  which  his 
lien  exists,  as  provided  in  the  code,  by  delivering  to  the 
clerk  an  affidavit,  showing  that  the  defendant  is  indebted 
to  the  plaintiff  upon  a  demand  for  the  service  fee,  and 
that  the  sum  for  which  the  attachment  is  asked  is  an 
actual  bona  fide  existing  debt,  due  and  owing  from  the 
defendant  to  the  plaintiff,  and  that  the  attachment  is  not 
sought,  and  the  action  is  not  brought,  to  hinder,  delay  or 
defraud  any  creditor  or  creditors  of  the  defendant." 


274  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 


COLORADO. 

"The  keepers  of  stallions,  jacks,  bulls,  rams  and  boars 
have  a  lien  on  the  get  of  such  animals  for  the  space  of 
one  year  after  the  birth  of  the  get,  for  the  payment  of  the 
service  fee  of  such  stallion,  jack,  bull,  ram  or  boar." 

CONNECTICUT. 

There  is  no  lien  law  in  this  state,  but  one  who  by  false 
representations  obtains  the  registration  of  any  animal, 
or  who  knowingly  gives  a  false  pedigree  of  such  animal,  is 
liable  to  a  fine  of  not  to  exceed  $100,  or  imprisonment  for 
not  more  than  one  year,  or  both. 

DELAWAEE. 

"Prom  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act  each  and  every 
colt  in  this  state  shall  be  liable  for  the  service  of  the 
stallion,  its  sire.  Provided,  however,  that  in  any  and  all 
cases  where  the  pedigree  or  qualities  of  the  stallion  is 
misrepresented  by  its  owner  or  agent,  then  the  foal  shall 
not  be  liable  for  the  service  as  aforesaid. 

"In  order  for  the  owner  or  owners  of  any  stallion  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  benefits  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  necessary 
for  such  owner  or  owners  to  have  printed  and  posted,  at 
ten  of  the  most  public  places  in  the  county  in  which  the 
said  stallion  or  stallions  are  to  stand  or  travel,  a  full 
description  and  pedigree  of  his  or  their  stallion  or  stallions, 
and  to  exhibit  a  copy  to  the  owner  or  owners  of  any  mare 
about  to  be  served  by  such  stallion."  The  stallioner  must 
bring  his  action  within  sixty  days  after  the  foal  is  dropped, 
and  after  refusal  to  pay  the  fee.  After  judgment  the  lien 
reverts  back  to  the  day  of  the  foaling  of  the  colt  and  is 
prior  to  any  other  execution  or  mortgage. 

DISTRICT    OF    COLUMBIA. 

There  is  no  lien  given  and  no  stallion  regulation  in  the 
District. 

FLORIDA. 

"Owners  of  stallions,  jacks  or  bulls  shall  have  a  lien  of 
superior  dignity  upon  the  colt  or  calf  of  the  get  of  said 
stallion,  jackass  or  bull:  provided  however,  that  such  serv- 
ice shall  have  been  done  upon  the  application  of  the  owner 
of  the  mother  of  such  colt  or  calf." 

GEORGIA. 

The  owner  or  keeper  of  any  stallion,  jack  or  blooded  or 
imported  bull  or  boar  in  this  state  shall  have  a  lien  on 


THE   HOESE   BOOK.  275 


the  get  thereof,  for  the  service  of  "such  stallion,  jack  or 
blooded  or  imported  bull  or  boar,  for  the  period  of  one 
year  from  the  birth  of  such  get,  which  lien  shall  be  supe- 
rior to  all  other  liens,  except  the  lien  for  taxes.  The  lien 
herein  provided  for  shall  not  become  operative  unless  the 
same  be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  superior 
court  of  the  county  wherein  the  owner  of  the  mother 
resides,  within  six  months  after  the  performance  of  the 
service,  and  the  said  clerk  shall  keep  a  book  in  which  all 
such  liens  are  to  be  recorded,  and  said  clerk  shall  receive 
twenty-five  cents  each  for  recording  such  lien;  Provided, 
said  animals  shall  be  kept  by  the  owners  thereof  inclosed 
in  their  own  pasture  or  otherwise. 

IDAHO. 

The  owner  or  person  in  charge  of  a  stallion,  jack  or  bull 
has  a  lien  on  the  dam  and  offspring,  provided  that  within 
ninety  days  after  the  service  he  files  with  the  recorder  of 
the  county  where  the  dam  is  situated,  a  notice  containing 
a  particular  description  of  the  mare,  when  served  and 
the  amount  of  lien  claimed.  This  notice  operates  as  a 
notice  to  subsequent  purchasers  and  incumbrances  in  good 
faith  for  one  year  from  the  date  of  filing.  Provided  also, 
that  every  owner  of  a  sire  charging  a  service  fee  shall  file 
a  statement  under  oath,  with  the  auditor  of  the  county  in 
which  the  sire  is  kept,  "giving  the  name,  age,  description 
and  pedigree  as  well  as  the  terms  and  conditions  upon 
such  sire  is  advertised  for  service." 

The  lien  upon  the  get  is  valid  for  eighteen  months  from 
the  date  of  birth  and  has  priority  over  all  other  liens  and 
encumbrances  upon  the  get,  provided  that  within  twelve 
months  from  the  service  the  stallioner  files  with  the  aud,- 
itor  of  the  county  wherein  the  service  was  rendered  a 
statement  of  account  properly  verified,  giving  the  amount 
due  and  a  description  of  the  female. 

If  in  a  suit  for  service  fees  the  court  in  rendering  judg- 
ment certifies  in  the  record  that  the  plaintiff  has  complied 
with  the  statute  and  that  the  get  of  the  service  is  subject 
to  the  lien,  the  get  is  not  exempt  from  execution  on  such 
judgment. 

ILLINOIS. 

"Every  owner  of  a  sire  charging  a  service  fee,  in  order 
to  have  a  lien  upon  the  get  of  any  such  sire  *  *  *  * 
shall  file  a  statement,  verified  by  oath  or  affirmation  of  the 
best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  with  the  secretary  of  the 
State  Board  of  Agriculture,  giving  the  name,  age,  descrip- 


276  THE   HORSE  BOOK. 


tion  and  pedigree,  as*  well  as  the  terms  and  conditions 
upon  which  such  sire  is  advertised  for  service. 

"The  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  upon 
receipt  of  the  statement  as  specified  above,  duly  verified 
by  affidavit,  shall  issue  a  certificate  to  the  owner  of  the 
said  sire,  a  copy  of  which  certificate  shall  be  forwarded 
to  the  clerk  of  the  county  court  in  which  said  sire  is  sta- 
tioned or  located,  and  another  copy  furnished  the  appli- 
cant, which  shall  be  posted  by  the  owner  in  a  conspicuous 
place  where  said  sire  may  be  stationed,  which  certificate 
shall  state  the  name,  age,  description,  pedigree  and  owner- 
ship of  said  sire,  the  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  the 
sire  is  advertised  for  service,  and  that  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  filing  of  the  statement 
aforesaid,  have  been  complied  with." 

The  owner  who  has  complied  with  the  statute  has  a  lien 
on  the  get  of  his  sire  and  such  get  is  not  exempt  from 
execution  on  a  judgment  for  the  service  fee  if  the  court 
certifies  that  the  statute  has  been  complied  with,  that  the 
get  is  subject  to  the  lien  and  this  finding,  with  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  claim,  is  endorsed  on  the  execution. 

INDIANA. 

A  sire  owner  in  Indiana  who  takes  out  a  license  for  his 
horse  has  a  lien  on  the  get  for  the  amount  of  the  service 
fee  agreed  on.  If  there  was  no  specific  agreement,  then 
for  the  amount  of  the  advertised  fee.  To  make  the  lien 
good  against  third  parties,  the  stallioner  must  file  a  notice 
in  the  office  of  the  recorder  in  the  county  where  the  owner 
of  the  mare  resides.  This  notice  must  be  filed  within  one 
year  from  the  date  of  service,  and  gives  the  stallioner  a  lien 
as  against  third  parties  for  one  year  after  such  filing.  This 
constitutes  notice  to  all  of  the  existence  of  the  lien  and 
the  stallioner  may  take  the  get  in  any  township  in  the 
state,  in  which  it  may  be  found,  in  an  action  before  a 
justice  of  the  peace  in  that  township.  The  notice  must 
contain  a  description  of  the  dam,  owner's  name,  name  of 
sire,  name  and  residence  of  its  owner,  date  of  service  and 
amount  of  service  fee,  together  with  any  written  agree- 
ment which  may  have  been  made  at  the  time  of  service. 

Where  the  mare  and  get  remain  in  the  hands  of  the 
same  owner  who  brought  the  mare  for  service,  the  licensed 
sire  owner  will  have  a  lien  for  two  years  from  the  date  of 
service,  and  one  year  from  the  date  of  filing  notice  when 
the  colt  has  been  disposed  of. 

Any  owner  who  disposes  or  attempts  to  dispose  of  a 
female  without  providing  for  the  payment  of  the  service 


THE   HORSE   BOOK.  277 


fee  or  who  falsely  represents  that  she  has  been  bred  to  an 
improved  sire  other  than  the  one  to  which  she  has  been 
bred,  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  $50. 

INDIAN    TERRITORY. 

The  owner  or  keeper  of  a  jack  or  stallion  has  a  lien  on 
the  mare  for  the  service  fee, 

'*Such  lien  shall  attach  after  the  time  of  service  of  any 
mare  by  any  jack  or  stallion,  and  shall  be  enforced  or  fore- 
closed at  any  time  on  or  after  maturity  of  the  debt  as 
agreed  upon  by  the  parties  to  the  contract,  and  may  be 
enforced  or  foreclosed  in  the  same  manner  as  laborers' 
liens  are  enforced  by  law." 

The  lien  may  be  enforced  after  the  mare  has  passed  to 
the  possession  of  third  parties. 

IOWA. 

Any  owner  or  keeper  of  any  stallion,  kept  for  public 
service,  or  for  sale,  exchange  or  transfer,  who  represents 
such  animal  to  be  pure-bred  shall  cause  the  same  to  be 
registered  in  some  stud  book  recognized  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  obtain  a 
certificate  of  registration,  which  must  be  submitted  to  the 
secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  of  the  state 
of  Iowa.  If  such  registration  is  found  to  be  correct  and 
genuine  he  shall  issue  a  certificate  setting  forth  the  name, 
sex,  age  and  color  of  the  animal  and  the  volume  and  page 
of  the  stud  book  in  which  such  animal  is  registered. 

Anyone  who  represents  his  animal  to  be  pure-bred  shall 
place  a  copy  of  the  certificate  of  the  State  Board  on  the 
door  or  stall  of  the  stable  where  the  animal  is  usually 
kept  Any  owner  or  keeper  of  a  stallion  kept  for  public 
service,  for  which  a  state  certificate  has  not  been  issued, 
must  advertise  such  horse  by  having  printed  hand  bills 
or  posters,  not  less  than  five  by  seven  inches  in  size,  and 
such  bills  or  posters  must  have  printed  thereon  imme- 
diately preceding  or  above  the  name  of  the  stallion,  the 
words  "grade  stallion,"  in  type  not  less  than  one  inch  in 
height,  said  bills  or  posters  to  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous 
manner  at  all  places  where  the  stallion  is  kept  for  public 
service.  The  certificate  may  be  transferred  to  a  purchaser 
through  the  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

Any  person  who  shall  fraudulently  represent  any  ani- 
mal, horse,  cattle,  sheep  or  swine,  to  be  pure-bred,  or  any 
person  who  shall  post  or  publish,  or  cause  to  be  posted 
or  published,  any  false  pedigree  or  certificate,  or  shall 
use  any  stallion  for  public  service,  or  sell,  exchange  or 


278  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 


transfer  any  stallion,  representing  such  animal  to  be  pure- 
bred, without  first  having  such  animal  registered,  and  ob- 
taining the  certificate  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
as  above  provided,  or  who  shall  violate  any  of  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and 
be  punished  by  a'fine  of  not  more  than  $100,  or  imprisoned 
in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding  thirty  days,  or  by  both 
such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

KANSAS. 

The  owner  of  any  stallion,  jack  or  bull  has  a  lien  on 
the  offspring  of  his  animal  for  the  service  fee,  for  one 
year  after  the  birth  of  such  .offspring:  "Provided,  That 
at  or  before  the  time  of  foaling  or  birth  of  said  offspring, 
the  owner  of  the  stallion,  bull  or  jack  shall  file  in  the 
office  of  the  register  of  deeds  of  the  county  where  the  dam 
of  said  offspring  is  kept,  a  description  of  the  dam  on 
whose  offspring  he  claims  a  lien.  Such  a  lien  shall  be  en- 
forced as  other  liens  upon  personal  property  under  chapter 
142  of  the  Session  Laws  of  1872  are  enforced." 

KENTUCKY. 

"The  licensed  keepers  of  stallions,  jacks  and  bulls  shall 
have  a  lien  upon  the  get  of  such  stallion,  jack  or  bull  for 
one  year  after  the  birth  of  the  same  for  the  payment  of  the 
service  fee;  but  the  get  of  such  animals  shall  not  be  sub- 
ject to  the  lien  when  a  receipt  for  said  services  is  shown 
by  the  owner  of  such  get." 

LOUISIANA. 

"No  person  or  association  of  persons  shall  be  permitted 
to  stand  any  stud  horse,  jack  or  bull  in  this  state  without 
having  first  obtained  a  license  fronl  the  parish  or  munici- 
pal corporation  in  which  such  stud  horse,  jack  or  bull 
shall  stand;  which  license  shall  be  equal  in  amount  to 
the  greatest  sum  charged  for  the  services  of  the  same; 
provided  that  no  person  or  association  of  persons  who 
shall  stand  any  stud  horse,  jack  or  bull  without  having 
first  obtained  the  license  provided  for  in  this  section,  shall 
be  permitted  to  recover  any  amount  for  such  service. 

"Any  person  or  association  of  persons  who  shall  stand 
any  stud  horse,  jack  or  bull  in  compliance  with  the  terms 
of  this  act,  shall  have  a  lien  and  privilege  upon  the  issue 
of  said  stud  horse,  jack  or  bull  for  the  period  of  one  year, 
which  lien  and  privilege  shall  prime  all  others." 


THE   HOESE  BOOK.  279 


MAINE. 

"The  owner  or  keeper  of  any  stallion  for  breeding  pur- 
poses, before  advertising,  by  written  or  printed  notices, 
the  service  thereof,  shall  file  a  certificate  v/ith  the  register 
of  deeds  in  the  county  where  said  stallion  is  owned  or  kept, 
stating  the  name,  color,  age  and  size  of  same,  together 
with  the  pedigree  of  said  stallion  as  fully  as  attainable, 
and  the  name  of  the  person  by  whom  he  was  bred.  Who- 
ever neglects  to  make  and  file  such  certificate  shall  recover 
no  compensation  for  said  services,  and,  if  he  knowingly  and 
wilfully  makes  and  files  a  false  certificate  of  the  state- 
ments aforesaid,  he  forfeits  one  hundred  dollars,  to  be  re- 
covered by  complaint,  indictment  or  action  of  debt,  to  the 
county  where  the  offense  is  committed.  *  *  *  Whoever 
knowingly  exhibits,  makes  or  gives  a  false  pedigree  of  any 
animal,  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  for  not  more 
than  ninety  days,  or  by  fine  not  exceeding^  three  hundred 
dollars,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment." 

MARYLAND. 

Every  owner  or  agent  who  may  have  the  custody  or  con- 
trol of  any  stallion,  who  shall  charge  a  fee  for  the  services 
of  such  stallion,  shall  before  advertising  or  offering  such 
service  to  the  public  for  any  fee,  reward  or  compensation, 
file  with  the  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  for  the  county  in 
which  such  owner  or  owners,  agent  or  agents,  reside,  or 
in  which  such  stallion  shall  be  kept  for  service,  or  if  such 
service  shall  be  offered  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  then  with 
the  clerk  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  a  written  state- 
ment giving  the  name,  age,  pedigree  and  record,  if  known, 
and  if  not  known  then  that  the  same  is  unknown,  the 
description,  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  such  stal- 
lion will  serve.  Upon  filing  such  statement  the  clerk  of 
the  circuit  court  for  the  county,  or  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas  of  Baltimore,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  issue  a  cer- 
tificate or  license  to  the  owner  or  owners,  agent  or  agents, 
having  the  custody  and  control  of  such  stallion  that  such 
a  statement  has  been  filed  in  his  office;  the  owner  or 
agent  or  agents  of  the  owners  of  such  stallion,  shall  then 
post  a  written  or  printed  copy  of  the  statement  so  filed 
with  such  clerk,  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each  locality  in 
which  said  stallion  shall  be  kept  for  service. 

Every  owner  or  agent  who  shall  proclaim  or  publish  a 
false  or  fraudulent  pedigree  or  record,  or  statement  of  any 
kind  regarding  any  stallion  or  who  shall  neglect  or  refuse 
to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  above  section  shall  for- 
feit all  fees  for  the  services  of  such  stallion,  and  the  per- 


280  THE    HOESE   BOOK. 


son  or  persons  who  may  be  deceived  or  defrauded  by  such 
false  or  fraudulent  pedigree  or  record  or  statement  may 
sue  for  and  recover  in  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction 
such  damages  as  may  be  shown  to  have  been  sustained 
by  reason  of  such  false  and  fraudulent  representations. 

Whenever  the  owner  or  agent  of  an  owner  or  owners  of 
any  stallion  shall  have  complied  with  the  foregoing  pro- 
visions of  this  sub-title,  the  services  of  such  stallion  shall 
become  a  lien  on  each  mare  served,  together  with  the  foal 
resulting  from  such  service,  for  the  amount  agreed  upon 
between  the  owner  of  the  mare  and  the  owner  of  the  stal- 
lion at  the  time  of  the  service,  or  in  the  event  of  no  such 
agreement,  then  in  such  an  amount  as  is  specified  for  the 
service  of  such  stallion  in  the  statement  hereinbefore  re- 
quired to  be  filed  with  the  clerks  of  court  of  the  respective 
counties  or  of  Baltimore  City. 

Any  person  entitled  to  a  lien  under  this  sub-title,  shall 
file  a  claim  or  statement  of  the  same  in  the  office  of  the 
clerk  of  the  court  for  the  county  where  the  owner  of  the 
mare  resides,  or  if  such  owner  is  a  resident  of  Baltimore 
City,  then  said  lien  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  clerk 
of  the  superior  court  of  Baltimore  City;  provided,  that 
the  statement  of  said  lien  shall  be  filed  within  twelve 
months  from  the  date  of  the  service  of  the  stallion  for 
which  the  lien  is  claimed,  and  that  the  lien  shall  termi- 
nate at  the  end  of  six  months  from  the  date  of  the  filing 
of  the  same. 

Before  standing  any  stallion  or  jackass  the  owner  must 
pay  to  the  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of  some  county  in  the 
state  the  highest  sum  which  he  intends  to  ask  or  receive 
for  the  season  of  one  mare.  This  payment  to  the  clerk 
must  not  be  less  than  $10  and  the  receipt  of  the 
clerk  is  a  license  for  one  year  and  exempts  the  stallion 
or  jack  from  all  other  state  tax.  Any  owner  standing  his 
stallion  or  jack  without  a  license  forfeits  twice  the  sum 
above  mentioned.  Upon  information  under  oath,  the  sher- 
iff may  seize  any  stallion  or  jack  standing  without  a 
license. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

"The  owner  or  keeper  of  a  stallion  for  breeding  pur- 
poses shall,  before  advertising  the  service  thereof,  file  a 
certificate  of  the  name,  color,  age,  size  and  pedigree,  as 
fully  as  obtainable,  of  said  stallion,  and  of  the  name  of 
the  person  by  whom  he  was  bred,  with  the  clerk  of  the 
city  or  town  in  which  said  stallion  is  owned  or  kept,  who 
shall,  upon  payment  of  a  fee  of  twenty-five  cents,  record 
the  same  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose.  Whoever 


THE   HORSE   BOOK.  281 


neglects  to  make  and  file  such  certificate  shall  recover  no 
compensation  for  the  services  of  his  stallion,  and  who- 
ever knowingly  and  wilfully  makes  a  false  certificate  shall 
be  punished  by  a  fine  of  $100  for  each  offense." 

MICHIGAN. 

The  stallioner  has  a  lien  on  the  get  of  his  animal,  for 
the  period  of  six  months  after  the  birth  of  get.  In  order 
to  obtain  this  lien  the  stallioner  must  post  bills  or  posters 
conspicuously  at  all  places  where  the  stallion  is  stood  for 
service  and  must  post  at  least  three  along  the  route  that 
shall  be  travelled  by  the  stallion.  These  posters  must  con- 
tain a  correct  statement  of  the  age  and  breeding  of  the 
stallion,  and  of  the  terms  of  service,  and  having  been 
posted  as  above  provided,  constitute  a  contract  between  the 
stallioner  and  owner  of  the  dam.  This  lien  is  not  good  as 
against  subsequent  purchasers  of  the  dam  in  good  faith 
unless  the  stallioner  files  with  the  clerk  of  the  township 
where  the  dam  is  owned  at  the  time  of  service,  a  notice 
of  the  lien,  a  copy  of  the  contract  and  a  description  of  the 
dam. 

The  lien  may  be  enforced  by  seizure  of  the  colt,  but  no 
action  for  the  service  fco  or  seizure  of  the  colt  shall  be  had 
until  after  demand  for  payment,  and  no  recovery  can  be 
had  if  the  stallioner  has  wilfully  or  fraudulently  misrep- 
resented the  breeding  of  his  stallion. 

MINNESOTA. 

Any  one  standing  a  stallion  for  public  service  must 
cause  the  name,  description  and  pedigree  to  be  enrolled  in 
the  college  of  agriculture  of  the  University  of  Minnesota, 
upon  which  a  license  is  issued  to  him.  The  license  must 
be  recorded  with  the  register  of  deeds  in  any  county  where 
the  stallion  is  used  for  public  service.  In  order  to  procure 
his  license  the  stallioner  must  present  a  certificate  from  a 
licensed,  qualified  and  reputable  veterinarian  to  the  effect 
that  the  stallioner  is  free  from  infectious,  contagious  or 
transmissible  disease  or  unsoundness.  He  must  also  fur- 
nish the  certificate  of  pedigree  of  the  stallion  and  all  other 
necessary  papers  relating  to  the  breeding  and  ownership. 
The  stallion  registration  board  has  the  power  to  refuse  a 
certificate  of  enrollment  to  a  diseased  stallion  and  on  the 
same  ground  to  revoke  a  license  certificate  previously  is- 
sued. 

During  the  breeding  season  copies  of  the  license  certifi- 
cate must  be  posted  conspicuously  on  the  main  door  lead- 
ing to  the  building  where  the  stallion  stands  for  public 


282  THE   HOKSE   BOOK. 

service.  Bills  and  advertisements  of  a  licensed  stallion 
must  contain  a  copy  of  the  license  certificate,  but  must  not 
contain  illustrations,  pedigrees  or  other  matter  that  is  un- 
truthful or  misleading.  The  registration  fee  is  two  dollars 
with  an  annual  renewal  fee  of  one  dollar.  Stallions  must 
be  examined  every  four  years  until  ten  years  of  age,  and 
after  the  first  examination  are  exempt  at  ten  years  of  age 
or  over.  Upon  change  of  ownership  the  license  certificate 
may  be  transferred  by  the  secretary  of  the  board  of  en- 
rollment. Violators  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  act 
are  liable  to  a  fine  of  from  $25  to  $100  for  each  offense. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

A  privilege  tax  of  $5  is  imposed  on  all  stallions  or  jacks 
which  stand  for  fee.  The  owner  of  a  stallion,  jackass  or 
bull  has  a  lien  on  its  offspring  for  the  price  agreed  to  be 
paid  therefor,  and  may  enforce  such  lien  in  the  manner 
provided  for  enforcing  the  lien  of  stable  keepers,  subject 
to  all  of  the  provisions  of  the  chapter  on  that  subject. 
"But  if  the  owner  shall  have  falsely  represented  the  breed- 
ing, registration,  or  pedigree  of  his  stallion,  jackass  or 
bull,  by  advertisement  or  otherwise,  he  shall  not  have  a 
lien  *  *  *  as  against  any  person  who  acted  under  the 
belief  that  such  representation  was  true;  and,  in  such 
case,  the  owner  of  the  animal  shall  not  have  any  claim  for 
the  service  of  the  stallion,  jackass  or  bull." 

This  lien  runs  for  twelve  months  after  the  birth  of  off- 
spring and  is  good  against  the  world,  including  subsequent 
purchasers  for  a  valuable  consideration  without  notice. 

MISSOUBI. 

The  owner  or  keeper  of  any  stallion,  jack  or  bull  may 
advertise  the  terms  upon  which  he  will  let  any  such  ani- 
mal to  service,  by  publication  in  some  newspaper  of  the 
county  where  the  animal  is  kept,  for  sixty  days  during 
the  season  of  each  year,  or  by  printed  hand-bills  conspicu- 
ously posted  during  such  period,  in  four  or  more  public 
places  in  the  county,  including  the  place  where  the  animal 
is  kept;  and  such  publication  or  posting  shall  impart  no- 
tice thereof  to  the  owner  of  any  female  served  by  such 
sire  during  that  season,  and  the  owner  of  the  female 
served  shall  be  deemed  to  have  accepted  and  assented  to 
the  said  terms,  when  so  published  or  posted. 

"When  the  terms  of  service  as  posted  or  published,  shall 
provide  that  the  offspring  of  the  service  will  be  held  for 
the  service  fee,  the  owner  of  the  sire  shall  have  a  lien  on 
the  offspring  of  any  female  served,  for  the  period  of  one 


THE   HORSE   BOOK.  283 

year  after  the  birth  thereof,  which  said  lien  shall  be  pre- 
ferred to  any  prior  lien,  mortgage  or  incumbrance  what- 
ever; and  the  publication  or  posting  shall  be  deemed  notice 
to  any  third  party  of  the  existence  of  such  lien. 

"Any  person  who  shall  sell,  convey  or  dispose  of  any 
animal  upon  which  there  exists  a  lien  as  created  in  the 
preceding  section,  without  informing  the  person  to  whom 
the  same  is  sold  or  conveyed  that  such  lien  exists,  or  who 
shall  injure  or  destroy  such  animal,  or  aid  or  abet  the 
same,  for  the  purpose  of  defrauding  the  lienor,  or  who 
shall  remove  or  conceal,  or  aid  or  abet  in  removing  or 
concealing  such  animal  with  intent  to  hinder,  delay  OF 
defraud  such  lienor,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor." 

The  giving  of  a  false  pedigree  or  falsely  representing 
the  animal  to  be  eligible  to  registry  forfeits  all  claim  for 
service  fee,  and  all  benefit  of  the  lien  law.  The  stallioner 
may  enforce  his  lien  by  replevin. 

MONTANA. 

Every  owner  or  agent  who  may  have  the  control  of  any 
stallion,  who  shall  charge  a  fee  for  the  service  of  such  stal- 
lion, shall,  before  offering  or  advertising  such  services  to 
the  public  for  any  fee,  reward  or  compensation,  file  with 
the  clerk  of  the  county  in  which  owner  or  owners  or 
agents  reside,  or  where  such  stallion  shall  be  kept  for 
service,  a  written  statement,  giving  the  name,  age,  pedi- 
gree and  record  if  known,  if  not  that  the  same  is  un- 
known, description,  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  such 
stallion  will  serve.  Upon  filing  such  statement  the  county 
clerk  shall  issue  a  certificate  or  license  to  owner  or  own- 
ers or  agents,  having  custody  and  control  of  such  stallion, 
that  such  a  statement  has  been  filed  in  his  office ;  the  owner 
or  owners  or  agents  of  such  stallions  shall  then  post  a 
written  or  printed  notice  of  a  copy  of  the  statement  so  filed 
with  the  county  clerk  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each  local- 
ity in  which  said  stallion  shall  be  kept  for  service. 

Every  owner  or  agent  who  shall  proclaim  or  publish  a 
false  or  fraudulent  pedigree  or  record  or  statement  of  any 
kind  regarding  a  stallion,  or  who  shall  neglect  or  refuse 
to  comply  with  the  above  provisions,  shall  forfeit  all  fees 
for  the  services  of  such  stallion  and  the  person  or  persons 
who  may  have  been  deceived  or  defrauded  by  such  false 
or  fraudulent  pedigree  or  record  or  statement,  may  sue 
and  recover  in  any  court  having  jurisdiction,  such  dam- 
ages as  may  be  shown  to  have  been  sustained  by  reason  of 
false  representation  and  fraud. 


284  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 


Whenever  the  owner  or  agent  of  any  stallion  shall  have 
complied  with  the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  act,  the 
services  of  such  stallion  shall  become  a  lien  on  each  mare 
served,  together  with  a  foal  of  such  mare  served  from  such 
service  in  an  amount  agreed  upon  between  the  parties  at 
the  time  of  service;  or,  if  agreement  was  not  entered  into 
by  them,  in  such  amount  as  specified  as  service  fee  of  stal- 
lion or  stallions  in  the  statement  of  the  owner  or  agent 
filed  with  the  county  clerk;  Provided,  a  notice  of  lien  shall 
be  filed  within  twelve  months  after  such  service;  such 
lien  shall  terminate  at  the  end  of  the  year  from  the  date 
-of  filing  notice  thereof,  unless  within  that  time  an  action 
shall  be  commenced  for  the  enforcement  thereof. 

NEBRASKA. 

"Owners  of  stallions,  jacks  and  bulls  of  the  state  of 
Nebraska  shall  have  a  lien  upon  the  get  of  such  stallion, 
jack  or  bull  for  the  period  of  nine  months  after  the  birth 
of  same  for  the  payment  of  the  services  of  said  stallion, 
jack  or  bull;  provided  that  the  owner  of  such  stallion,  jack 
or  bull  shall  have  filed  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
county  in  which  such  get  is  owned  a  description  of  the 
same  with  date  of  birth  within  one  hundred  and  twenty 
days  after  the  birth  thereof.  Said  Hen  may  be  at  any  time 
after  the  filing  of  said  description  foreclosed  in  manner 
and  form  as  provided  by  law  for  the  foreclosing  of  chattel 
mortgages." 

NEVADA. 

"Any  person  who  shall  sell  any  stallion  within  the  lim- 
its of  this  state,  intended  for  breeding  purposes,  and  who 
shall  give  a  false  or  erroneous  written  pedigree,  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  felony,  and  on  conviction  thereof,  shall 
be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  state  prison  for  a 
term  of  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  five  years, 
and  such  person  so  offending  shall  be  liable  to  the  person 
so  purchasing  for  aH  damages  he  may  sustain  by  reason  of 
such  false  record  of  pedigree;  provided,  that  the  provisions 
of  this  act  shall  not  apply  to  any  representation  concern- 
ing pedigree  unless  the  same  has  been  reduced  to  writing 
and  signed  by  the  party  so  making  the  same. 

"Every  person  who  shall  keep  a  stallion  for  the  service 
of  mares  shall  keep  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  or 
near  the  stable  where  such  stallion  is  kept,  a  full  and 
complete  pedigree  of  such  stallion  headed  by  the  name  by 
which  said  stallion  is  known;  provided,  that  in  cases 
where  the  pedigree  is  unknown  such  fact  shall  be  inserted 
in  such  notes  in  lieu  of  pedigree.  Any  person  violating 


THE   HORSE   BOOK.  285 


the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  on  conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  in 
any  sum  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  nor  more  than 
five  hundred  dollars,  and  as  a  further  punishment  for  the 
offense  the  owner  or  keeper  of  such  horse  shall  have  no 
legal  right  to  collect  any  charges  made  for  services  of 
such  horse." 

There  is  no  lien  given  to  the  stallioner. 

NEW   HAMPSHIBE. 

"Every  person  who  offers  for  hire  the  service  of  a  stal- 
lion for  breeding  purposes  shall  make  a  certificate  stating 
the  name,  color,  age,  size  and  pedigree  (so  far  as  known) 
and  the  name  and  residence  of  the  person  by  whom  he 
was  bred,  and  shall  cause  the  certificate  to  be  recorded 
by  the  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture.  He  shall 
also  insert  a  copy  of  the  certificate  in  all  ^posters  and 
notices  advertising  the  stallion,  and  shall  give"  a  copy  of  it 
to  the  keeper  of  each  mare  served  by  the  stallion  for  hire." 

Neglect  to  make  or  record  the  certificate,  or  neglect  to 
give  a  copy  of  it  to  the  keeper  of  the  mare  forfeits  the 
service  fee  "unless  he  shall  show  that  the  person  had 
actual  knowledge  of  it  at  the  time  of  service."  Making 
false  statements  in  the  certificate  or  giving  a  false  copy 
of  it  to  a  mare  owner  makes  the  stallioner  liable  to  a 
fine  of  $100.  Compliance  with  this  statute  gives  the  stal- 
lioner a  preferred  lien  on  the  colt  until  it  is  eight  months 
old,  and  colt  may  be  attached  at  any  time  after  it  is  four 
months  old. 

NEW   JERSEY. 

There  is  no  stallion  law  in  this  state. 

NEW    MEXICO. 

There  is  no  stallion  lien  law  in  New  Mexico. 

NEW   YORK. 

"On  complying  with  the  provisions  of  this  article,  the 
owner  of  a  stallion  shall  have  a  lien  on  each  mare  served 
together  with  the  foal  of  such  mare  from  such  service,  for 
the  amount  agreed  on  at  the  time  of  service,  or  if  no 
agreement  was  made,  for  the  amount  specified  in  the 
statement  hereinafter  required  to  be  filed,  if  within  fifteen 
months  after  such  service  he  files  a  notice  of  such  lien  in 
the  same  manner  and  place  as  chattel  mortgages  are 
required  by  law  to  be  filed.  Such  notice  of  lien  shall  be  in 
writing,  specifying  the  person  against  whom  the  claim  is 
made,  the  amount  of  the  same  and  a  description  of  the 


286  THE   HOESE  BOOK. 

property  upon  which  the  lien  is  claimed,  and  such  lien 
shall  terminate  at  the  end  of  eighteen  months  from  the 
date  of  such  filing,  unless  within  that  time  an  action  is 
commenced  for  the  enforcement  thereof,  as  provided  in 
the  code  of  civil  procedure  for  the  foreclosure  of  a  lien  on 
chattels. 

"A  person  having  the  custody  or  control  of  a  stallion 
and  charging  a  fee  for  his  services,  shall,  before  adver- 
tising or  offering  such  services  to  the  public,  file  with  the 
clerk  of  the  county  in  which  he  resides  or  in  which  such 
stallion  is  kept  for  service,  a  written  statement  giving 
the  name,  age,  description  and  pedigree  if  known,  and  if 
not,  stating  that  the  same  is  unknown,  of  such  stallion  and 
the  terms  and  conditions  on  which  he  will  serve.  On 
filing  such  statement,  the  county  clerk  shall  *  *  issue 
a  certificate  to  such  person,  that  such  statement  has  been 
so  filed  and  recorded."  A  copy  of  this  statement  and  cer- 
tificate must  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  each 
locality  in  which  the  stallion  is  kept  for  service. 

Any  one  who  neglects  or  refuses  to  file  and  post  such 
statement  as  required,  or  who  therein  falsely  states  the 
pedigree  of  the  stallion,  forfeits  all  fees  for  the  service  and 
is  liable  to  any  one  injured  thereby. 

NORTH    CAROLINA. 

The  owner  of  a  stud  horse,  jack  or  bull  has. a  lien  on 
the  get  which  is  in  force  until  the  service  fee  is  paid.  The 
colt  or  calf  is  not  exempt  from  an  execution  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  service  fee  by  reason  of  any  personal  property 
exemptions;  Provided,  the  stallioner  institutes  action  to 
enforce  his  lien  within  twelve  months  from  the  birth  of 
get. 

NORTH    DAKOTA. 

"Filing  Statement  of  Pedigree  Pre-requisite.  Every 
owner  of  a  sire  charging  a  service  fee,  in  order  to  have  a 
lien  for  service  upon  the  offspring  of  any  such  sire  under 
the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  shall  file  a  statement,  veri- 
fied by  oath,  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  with 
the  commissioner  of  agriculture  and  labor,  giving  the 
name,  age,  description  and  pedigree  or  breeding  of  such 
sire,  so  far  as  known,  as  well  as  the  terms  and  conditions 
upon  which  he  is  advertised  for  service. 

"The  commissioner  of  agriculture  and  labor,  upon  receipt 
of  the  statement  specified  in  the  last  section,  shall  issue  a 
certificate  to  the  owner  thereof,  who  shall  file  a  copy  of 
such  certificate  with  the  register  of  deeds  of  the  county  or 
counties  in  which  such  sire  shall  stand  for  service,  and 


THE   HORSE   BOOK.  287 


copies  of  such  certificate  shall  also  be  posted  conspicu- 
ously in  all  places  where  such  sire  shall  stand  for  service, 
which  certificate  shall  state  the  name,  age,  description, 
pedigree  and  ownership  of  such  sire  and  the  terms  and 
conditions  upon  which  the  sire  is  advertised  for  service. 
Such  certificate  shall  be  procured  and  filed  prior  to  the 
service  of  such  sire,  and  all  certificates  procured  and  posted 
according  to  this  section  shall  be  operative  as  long  as  the 
terms  and  conditions  remain  the  same.  The  original  cer- 
tificate shall  follow  the  sire  in  all  changes  of  ownership 
and  all  transfers  shall  be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the 
commissioner  of  agriculture  and  labor  and  a  bill  of  sale 
filed  with  the  register  of  deeds,  as  is  provided  for  the 
filing  of  the  original  certificate,  and  that  the  provisions 
of  this  chapter  so  far  as  relates  to  the  filing  of  the  state- 
ment aforesaid  have  been  complied  'with. 

"The  owner  of  any  sire  receiving  such  certificate  shall 
have  a  lien  upon  the  offspring  of  such  sire  and  upon  the 
female  served,  upon  filing  at  any  time  within  eight  months 
after  the  service,  in  the  office  of  the  register  of  deeds  of 
the  county  in  which  such  female  is  kept  at  the  time  of 
service,  a  statement  of  the  account  thereof,  together  with 
a  description  of  the  female  served.  Such  lien  shall  exist 
for  a  period  of  three  years  from  the  date  of  filing  the 
statement  and  shall  have  priority  over  all  other  liens  and 
incumbrances  upon  the  offs'pring  and  the  female  served. 

"After  the  expiration  of  nine  months  from  the  filing  of 
the  lien,  or  at  any  time  after  an  attempt  shall  be  made  to 
dispose  of  the  female,  or  remove  her  from  the  county,  the 
lien  may  be  enforced  by  a  sale  of  the  property  covered 
thereby,  upon  the  notice  and  in  the  manner  provided  for 
the  foreclosure  of  mortgages  upon  personal  property." 

OHIO. 

"That  the  keeper  of  any  stallion  or  jack  shall  have  a 
lien  upon  the  get  of  the  same  for  the  period  of  twelve 
months  after  birth  of  the  'same,  for  the  payment  of  the 
service  of  any  such  stallion  or  jack.  Such  keeper  or  owner 
may  enforce  said  lien  by  replevin  of  the  property  before 
any  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  township  where  the  prop- 
erty is  found,  and  after  gaining  possession  of  the  same,  he 
may,  after  first  giving  ten  days'  notice  to  the  reputed 
owner  thereof  of  his  intention  to  do  so,  sell  the  same  at 
public  sale  after  two  weeks'  notice  of  the  time  and  place 
of  sale  by  notices  posted  up  in  five  conspicuous  and  public 
places  in  the  township  where  proceedings  in  replevin  are 
had,  and  out  of  the  proceeds  of  sale  retain  the  amount  due 
him  for  said  service,  with  the  costs  by  him  incurred  in 


288  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 


said  replevin  suit,  and  accounting  to  the  owner  for  the 
surplus  realized  by  said  sale.  And  the  owner  of  any  such 
stallion  or  jack,  when  payment  is  made  to  him  or  his 
agent,  for  any  such  get,  shall  deliver  to  the  payee  a  receipt 
in  full  for  the  amount  so  paid,  and  stating  for  what  paid. 
And  any  such  keeper  or  owner  of  any  stallion  or  jack,  who 
misrepresents  the  pedigree,  or  fails  to  publish  a  correct 
pedigree  of  his  stallion  or  jack,  when  excellency  of  good 
qualities  are  claimed  on  account  thereof,  shall,  upon  proof 
of  such  misrepresentation,  forfeit  the  services  in  any  case 
when  legally  contested  and  proven,  and  shall  be  otherwise 
punished  as  provided  by  law  against  the  use  of  false  pedi- 
gree." 

OKLAHOMA. 

"The  owner  or  keeper  of  any  stallion,  jack  or  bull  may 
advertise  the  terms  upon  which  he  will  let  such  animal 
to  service  by  publication  thereof  in  some  newspaper  in  the 
county  where  such  animal  is  kept  for  a  period  of  sixty  days 
during  the  season  of  each  year,  or  by  printed  handbills 
conspicuously  posted  during  such  period  in  four  or  more 
public  places  in  said  county,  including  the  place  where 
such  animal  is  kept;  and  the  publication  or  posting  as 
aforesaid  of  the  terms  of  such  service  shall  impart  notice 
thereof  to  the  owner  of  any  female  served  by  such  stal- 
lion, jack  or  bull  during  such  season;  and  in  all  action  and 
controversies  in  respect  to  the  foal  or  other  product  of  such 
service  the  owner  of  such  female  animal  so  served  shall 
be  deemed  to  have  accepted  and  assented  to  said  terms, 
when  so  advertised  or  posted  as  provided  herein. 

"When  the  said  terms  of  such  service  by  any  such  ani- 
mal, published  or  posted  as  provided  in  the  above  section, 
shall  provide  that  the  foal  or  other  product  of  such  service 
will  be  held  for  the  money  due  for  the  services  of  such 
stallion,  jack  or  bull,  then  and  in  that  event  the  owner  or 
keeper  of  any  such  animal  may  file  with  the  recorder  of 
deeds  of  the  county  in  which  such  animal  is  kept  for 
service,  a  certificate  signed  by  the  owner  of  the  female 
bred,  or  his  representative,  also  the  owner  or  keeper  of  the 
male  animal  rendering  the  service,  stating  the  terms  of 
such  service,  a  description  of  the  female  served,  also  a 
description  of  the  male  rendering  the  service,  the  date  of 
service  and  acceptance  of  terms  by  owner  of  female,  and 
such  certificate,  if  filed  within  three  months  after  the 
rendering  of  such  srvice,  shall  become  and  continue  a 
lien  on  the  offspring  for  the  period  of  six  months  after 
the  birth  thereof,  and  the  filing  of  such  certificate  shall  be 
constructive  notice  to  any  third  party  of  the  existence  of 


THE   HOESE   BOOK.  289 


the  lien;  Provided,  that  as  between  the  owner  of  any  stal- 
lion, jack  or  bull,  as  provided  in  the  preceding  section  and 
the  owner  of  any  female  served,  a  lien  shall  exist  not- 
withstanding no  certificate  as  herein  provided  shall  be 
filed  or  notice  given  as  in  this  article  provided." 

The  recorders  of  the  several  counties  are  required  to 
keep  a  book  especially  for  the  recording  of  these  certifi- 
cates. 

If  the  sire  owner  advertises  a  false  pedigree,  or  falsely 
represents  his  animal  to  be  eligible  to  be  recorded,  he  loses 
all  claim  for  the  services  of  that  animal  and  all  benefit 
of  the  stallion  law. 

The  lien  is  enforced  by  replevin  of  the  animal  on  which 
it  is  claimed,  and  the  replevin  suit  will  take  the  course 
and  be  decided  as  are  other  replevin  suits. 

OEEGON. 

The  owner  of  any  stallion  within  the  state  may  file  with 
the  county  clerk  of  any  county  therein,  on  or  before  the 
31st  day  of  December  of  each  year,  a  list  of  mares  served 
by  such  stallion  during  that  year  upon  which  such  owner 
claims  a  lien  for  the  service  fee  of  such  stallion  for  such 
year;  and  from  the  time  of  filing  such  lists  and  claim  for 
liens  the  owner  of  such  stallion  shall  have  and  hold  a  lien 
upon  each  mare  therein  described,  and  upon  her  colt,  if 
any  for  the  amount  of  the  service  fee  of  such  stallion  due 
on  such  mare.  Such  list  and  claim  for  liens  shall  contain 
the  name  and  a  brief  description  of  each  of  such  mares, 
the  name  of  the  owner  of  each  mare,  the  terms  upon 
which  such  mare  was  bred,  the  amount  of  service  fee  due 
on  such  mare,  the  time  the  same  is  payable,  and  a  state- 
ment that  the  owner  of  such  stallion  claims  a  lien  on 
such  mare  and  her  colt,  if  any,  by  such  stallion  for  the 
amount  of  said  service  fee,  and  such  list  and  claim  shall 
be  subscribed  and  verified  by  the  oath  of  the  owner  of 
such  stallion  or  his  agent. 

The  liens  secured  and  provided  for  by  the  preceding 
section  shall  expire  in  one  year  after  the  31st  day  of  De- 
cember on  or  before  which  said  claim  for  liens  may  be  filed 
as  aforesaid,  unless  the  same  shall  be  renewed  within 
thirty  days  before  the  expiration  thereof  by  the  owner  or 
his  agent,  making  and  filing  an  affidavit  to  be  attached  to 
the  original  list  and  claim  for  liens,  setting  forth  the 
service  fees  therein  still  remaining  unpaid,  and  then  such 
affidavit  shall  renew  and  extend  such  lien  for  another  year. 
All  persons  holding  any  such  lien  may  enforce  the  same 
against  the  mare  and  colt,  or  either  of  them,  by  action  in 
any  justice  court  in  any  county  where  such  mare  or  colt, 


290  THE   HOUSE  BOOK. 


or  either  of  them,  may  be  found,  and  such  court  may  ren- 
der judgments  that  such  lien  exists  against  such  mare  or 
colt,  or  both  of  them,  and  direct  that  they  be  sold  to  sat- 
isfy the  said  service  fee,  or  any  part  thereof  remaining 
unpaid,  together  with  the  costs  and  disbursements  of  said 
action,  in  the  manner  provided  by  law  for  the  sale  of  per- 
sonal property  upon  execution;  and  in  all  actions  to  en- 
force such  liens  both  the  owner  of  such  mare  named  in 
said  claim  for  lien  and  any  person  claiming  any  interest 
or  title  to  such  mare  or  colt,  may  be  made  parties  thereto, 
but  any  such  party  may  set  up  any  defense  to  the  claim 
of  the  plaintiff  in  such  action  which  the  owner  of  the  mare, 
at  the  time  of  breeding,  if  a  party,  would  be  entitled  to 
make,  and  the  filing  of  such  lists  and  claim  for  lien  as 
aforesaid  shall  be  constructive  notice  thereof  to  all  persons 
buying  or  in  any  way  dealing  with  or  in  regard  to  any 
such  mare  or  her  colt  after  such  mare  shall  have  been  bred, 
and  any  transfer  or  purchase  of  such  property  shall  be 
subject  to  such  lien. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

All  stallions,  used  for  breeding  purposes,  must  be  en- 
rolled by  name,  description  and  pedigree,  with  the  State 
Livestock  Sanitary  Board,  and  the  certificate  of  enrollment 
must  be  recorded  by  the  prothonotary  of  the  county  or 
counties  where  the  stallion  is  used  for  public  service. 

"In  order  to  obtain  the  license  certificate  herein  provided 
for,  the  owner  of  such  stallion  shall  file  a  certificate  of 
soundness,  signed  by  a  duly  qualified  veterinarian,  or,  in 
lieu  thereof,  he  may  make  oath  before  a  notary  public 
that,  after  diligent  inquiry,  such  stallion  is,  to  the  best  of 
his  knowledge,  free  from  hereditary,  contagious  or  trans- 
missible unsoundness  or  disease,  and  shall  forward  this 
veterinarian's  certificate,  or  his  affidavit,  together  with  the 
stud-book  certificate  of  registry  of  the  pedigree  of  the  said 
stallion,  and  any  other  documents  that  may  be  necessary 
to  define  and  describe  his  breeding  and  ownership,  to  the 
State  Livestock  Sanitary  Board." 

The  board  may  in  its  discretion  refuse  a  license  to  a 
stallion  because  of  transmissible  physical  unsoundness  or 
because  of  the  pedigree  not  being  recorded  in  a  book  recog- 
nized by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Copies  of  this  license  certificate  must  be  posted  in  a 
conspicuous  place  both  within  and  upon  the  outside  of  the 
main  door  leading  into  any  stable  or  building  where  the 
stallion  stands  for  public  service,  and  must  be  kept  in 
place  during  the  entire  breeding  season. 


THE   HORSE   BOOK.  291 


Bills,  posters  or  advertisements  must  contain  a  copy  of 
the  certificate  of  enrollment. 

Upon  transfer  of  ownership  of  the  stallion,  the  certificate 
may  be  transferred  to  the  purchaser  by  the  state  board. 
Violation  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  act  is  punishable 
by  fine  not  to  exceed  $50. 

BHODE   ISLAND. 

There  is  no  regulation  of  the  service  of  stallions  in  this 
state,  and  no  lien  is  given. 

SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

"The  owner  of  any  stock  horse,  jack,  bull,  boar  or  ram, 
kept  by  him  for  the  purpose  of  raising  from,  having  a 
claim  by  contract  against  the  owner  of  any  mare  or  cow, 
or  other  stock,  for  service,  shall  have  a  prior  lien  on  the 
issue  of  such  mare,  cow  or  other  stock  for  the  amount  of 
such  claim;  provided,  an  action  shall  be  instituted  to  en- 
force such  claim,  by  suit,  before  a  magistrate  or  other  offi- 
cer having  jurisdiction,  within  twelve  months  from  the  time 
such  shall  have  accrued." 

SOUTH  DAKOTA. 

The  owner  of  a  stallion  or  bull  has  a  lien  upon  the  mare 
or  cow  and  upon  the  offspring,  provided  that  within  ninety 
days  after  the  service,  he  files  with  the  register  of  deeds 
in  the  county  where  the  mare  or  cow  is  situated,  a  notice 
in  writing,  containing  a  particular  description  of  the  said 
mare  or  cow,  when  served,  and  the  amount  of  lien  claimed 
upon  the  same,  which  notice  when  so  filed  is  notice  to  sub- 
sequent purchasers  or  incumbrancers  for  one  year  after 
filing.  (Statute  of  1883,  not  repealed.) 

Law  of  1890. — Every  owner  of  a  sire,  charging  a  service 
fee,  in  order  to  have  a  lien  on  the  get  of  such  sire  must 
file  a  statement,  verified  by  oath  or  affirmation,  to  the  best 
of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  with  the  county  clerk  or  audi- 
tor, giving  the  name,  age,  description  and  pedigree,  as  well 
as  the  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  such  sire  is  adver- 
tised for  service.  Upon  filing  this  statement  the  owner 
gets  a  certificate,  "a  copy  of  which  certificate  shall  be  filed 
with  the  clerk  of  the  court  in  the  county  where  the  said 
sire  is  stationed  or  located,  and  other  copies  furnished  the 
applicant,  which  certificates  'shall  be  posted  by  the  owner 
in  conspicuous  places  where  said  sire  may  be  stationed  for 
service,  which  certificate  shall  state  the  name,  age,  descrip- 
tion, pedigree  and  ownership  of  said  sire,  the  terms  and 
conditions  upon  which  the  sire  is  advertised  for  service, 


292  THE   HOUSE  BOOK. 

and  that  the  provisions  of  this  article  so  far  as  relates  to 
the  filing  of  the  statement  aforesaid,  have  been  complied 
with." 

Having  obtained  his  certificate,  the  owner  of  the  sire  has 
a  prior  lien  upon  the  get  of  the  sire,  for  eighteen  months 
from  the  date  of  birth,  "Provided,  said  owner  or  owners 
shall  within  twelve  months  from  the  time  of  rendition  of 
such  service  by  such  certified  sire  file  for  record  a  state- 
ment of  account  verified  by  affidavit  or  affirmation  with  the 
recorder  of  the  county  wherein  the  service  has  been  ren- 
dered of  the  amount  due  such  owner  or  owners  for  said 
service,  together  with  a  description  of  the  female  served." 

No  get  of  such  sire  is  exempt  from  execution  on  a  judg- 
ment for  service  fee,  provided  the  court  rendering  the  judg- 
ment certifies  on  the  record,  and  on  the  execution  with  a 
description  of  the  dam  that  the  progeny  sought  to  be  levied 
upon  is  subject  to  the  lien. 

TENNESSEE. 

Any  person  keeping  a  stallion,  jack,  bull  or  boar  for 
public  use  has  a  lien  on  the  offspring  of  the  same  for  the 
season  to  be  paid. 

This  lien  continues  for  ten  months  from  the  birth  of 
offspring  and  is  enforced  as  landlords'  liens  are  enforced. 
The  pedigree  under  oath  of  any  stallion,  jack  or  bull, 
claimed  to  be  pedigreed  live  stock,  and  used  for  public 
breeding  must  be  filed  and  recorded  with  the  clerk  of  the 
county  court,  presumably  in  the  county  where  the  animal 
is  kept  or  stood  for  service.  During  the  breeding  season  a 
certified  copy  of  the  pedigree  as  recorded  must  be  posted 
conspicuously  in  three  different  places  in  the  county  where 
the  owner  lives  or  the  animal  is  stood  for  service.  Anyone 
who  knowingly  posts  or  records  a  false  pedigree  is  liable  to 
a  fine  of  from  $25  to  $100. 

TEXAS. 

"The  owner  or  keeper  of  any  stallion,  jack,  bull  or  boar, 
who  keeps  the  same  confined  for  the  purpose  of  standing 
him  for  profit,  shall  have  a  preference  lien  upon  the 
progeny  of  such  stallion,  jack,  bull  or  boar,  to  secure  the 
payment  of  the  amount  due  such  owner  or  keeper  for  the 
services  of  such  stallion,  jack,  bull  or  boar,  and  such  lien 
shall  exist  by  reason  of  the  force  and  effect  of  the  pro- 
visions hereof,  and  it  shall  never  be  necessary  in  order  to 
secure  and  fix  said  lien  to  secure,  file  or  register  any  con- 
tract or  statement  thereof  with  any  officer,  nor  shall  it  be 
necessary  that  the  owner  of  such  progeny  execute  any  con- 


THE   HOKSE  BOOK.  293 


tract  whatever,  but  that  such  preference  lien  may  be  fore- 
closed in  the  same  manner  as  the  statutory  landlord's 
lien  is  by  law  enforced;  provided  that  where  parties  mis- 
represent their  stock  by  •  false  pedigree,  no  lien  shall  ob- 
tain. 

"The  lien  herein  provided  shall  remain  in  force  for  a 
period  of  ten  months  from  the  birth  of  said  progeny,  but 
shall  not  be  enforced  until  five  months  shall  have  elapsed 
after  such  birth." 

UTAH. 

"Every  person,  firm  or  company,  standing,  traveling  or 
offering  for  sale  any  pure-bred  or  grade  stallion  in  this 
State,  shall  cause  the  name,  description  and  pedigree  of 
such  animal  to  be  enrolled  by  the  said  board,  and  procure 
a  certificate  of  such  enrollment  from  such  board,  which 
shall  thereupon  be  presented  to,  and  recorded  by  the  regis- 
ter of  deeds  of  the  county  in  which  said  stallion  is  used  or 
sold  for  public  service. 

"In  order  to  obtain  the  license  certificate  herein  pro- 
vided for,  the  owner  of  each  pure-bred  or  grade  stallion 
shall  make  oath  before  a  notary  public,  or  any  other  officer 
authorized  to  administer  oaths,  that  such  stallion  is,  to  the 
best  of  his  knowledge,  free  from  hereditary,  contagious  or 
transmissible  unsoundness,  or  disease,  or,  in  lieu  thereof, 
may  file  a  certificate  of  soundness  signed  by  a  duly  quali- 
fied veterinarian  who  shall  be  a  graduate  of  a  recognized 
veterinary  college,  and  shall  forward  this  affidavit,  or 
veterinarian's  certificate,  together  with  the  stud  book  cer- 
tificate of  registry  of  the  pedigree  of  the  said  stallion  and 
other  necessary  papers  relating  to  his  breeding  and  owner- 
ship, to  the  Board  of  Horse  Commissioners. 

"The  owner  of  any  stallion,  standing  for  public  service 
in  this  State  shall  post  and  keep  affixed,  >  during  the  entire 
breeding  season,  copies  of  the  license  certificate  of  such 
stallion,  issued  under  the  provisions  of  the  next  preceding 
section,  in  a  conspicuous  place  where  said  stallion  stands 
for  public  service. 

"Every  bill,  poster,  or  advertisement  issued  by  the 
owner  of  any  stallion,  enrolled  under  this  act  or  used  by 
him  for  advertising  such  stallion,  shall  contain  a  copy  of 
its  certificate  of  enrollment. 

"Every  person  in  the  State  of  Utah  complying  with  the 
provisions  of  this  Act,  shall  have  a  lien  on  the  mare  and  a 
first  lien  upon  the  offspring  of  such  service  to  the  amount 
of  the  agreed  service  fee  for  the  period  of  eighteen  months 
after  service,  and  it  shall  not  be  necessary  in  order  to  se- 
cure and  fix  said  lien  to  secure,  file  or  register  any  con- 


294  THE   HORSE   BOOK. 


tract  or  statement  thereof  with  any  officer,  nor  shall  it  be 
necessary  that  the  owner  of  such  mare  or  foal  execute  any 
contract  whatever;  the  said  lien  may  be  foreclosed  in  the 
same  manner  that  a  mortgage  upon  personal  property  is 
foreclosed. 

"The  fee  for  examination  and  enrollment  of  pedigree  is 
$2  and  the  certificate  may  be  transferred  to  a  new  owner  of 
the  horse  upon  payment  of  a  further  fee  of  fifty  cents." 

VERMONT. 

"Colts  foaled  in  this  state  shall  be  subject  to  a  lien  to 
secure  the  payment  of  the  service  fee,  which  shall  con- 
tinue in  force  until  the  colt  is  eight  months  old,  and  may 
be  enforced  by  attachment  of  such  colt  after  it  is  four 
months  old;  said  lien  shall  take  priority  of  any  other 
claim  subject  to  the  following  conditions: 

"The  owner  or  manager  of  the  stallion  shall,  annually, 
file  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  town  where  such  stal- 
lion is  kept,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  April,  or  within 
thirty  days  after  such  stallion  is  brought  into  such  town,  a 
declaration  of  an  intention  to  claim  such  lien  and  a  state- 
ment containing  the  name  and  age  of  such  stallion  and 
his  pedigree  for  two  generations,  if  known,  and  the  terms 
of  service;  a  copy  of  which  statement  shall  be  furnished 
the  owner  of  each  mare  served,  and  all  bills  or  posters  ad- 
vertising such  stallion  shall  contain  a  copy  of  such  state- 
ment; and  when  the  owner  or  manager  of  a  stallion  has 
complied  with  all  the  requirements  of  this  section,  if  the 
owner  or  person  in  whose  name  a  mare  has  been  mated 
with  such  stallion  for  breeding  purpose  disposes  of  such 
mare  by  sale  or  otherwise  before  foaling  time  without 
first  settling  with  the  owner  or  keeper  for  the  service  of 
the  stallion  or  within  ten  days  after  the  disposal  of  the 
mare,  he  shall  be  subject  to  all  and  the  'same  penalties  that 
he  would  for  disposing  of  a  colt  encumbered  by  a  lien; 
provided  that  if  such  mare  is  returned  for  trial  to  the  stal- 
lion after  three  weeks  from  the  date  of  the  last  service  and 
found  not  to  have  become  pregnant  and  is  not  again  served 
during  that  breeding  season,  the  provisions  of  this  section 
shall  not  apply  to  the  disposal  of  such  mare. 

"If  the  owner  or  manager  shall,  in  such  statement  make 
a  false  representation  regarding  the  pedigree  of  such  horse, 
the  lien  for  such  service  shall  be  discharged  and  the  service 
fee  thereby  secured  shall  be  forfeited. 

"A  person  who  owns,  keeps  or  uses  a  stallion  of  two 
years  of  age  or  over  for  breeding  purposes  in  this  state, 
except  for  his  own  mares,  shall  cause  such  stallion  to  be 


THE   HOBSE  BOOK.  295 


registered  in  the  office  of  the  town  clerk  of  the  town  in 
which  he  is  kept  or  used.  The  owner  or  keeper  of  such 
stallion  shall  furnish  to  the  town  clerk  in  the  town  where 
such  registration  is  made,  a  certificate  of  the  name,  age, 
color,  size,  name  of  breeder  and  pedigree  in  full  of  such 
stallion  to  the  third  ancestor  on  the  side  of  hoth  sire  and 
dam,  if  known,  and  as  much  of  such  information  as  is  not 
given  shall  he  acknowledged  as  not  known  and  so  stated, 
and  pedigrees  given  in  advertising  such  stallions  shall  be 
as  recorded  in  the  town  clerk's  office.  The  town  clerk  shall 
record  such  statement  in  a  book  kept  for  that  purpose  and 
shall  receive  from  the  applicant  the  sum  of  fifty  cents  for 
each  stallion  so  registered  and  shall  furnish  the  owner  or 
keeper  procuring  such  registration  a  certified  copy  of  the 
same.  The  owner  or  keeper  of  a  stallion  who  fails  to  com- 
ply with  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  fined  not  more 
than  fifty  dollars  nor  less  than  ten  dollars  and  shall  receive 
no  compensation  for  breeding  services  of  such  stallion.  A 
person  who  makes  a  false  certificate  under  the  provisions 
of  this  section  shall  be  fined  one  hundred  dollars  to  the 
use  of  the  town  where  such  stallion  is  registered." 

VIBGINIA. 

The  owner  of  a  licensed  stallion,  jackass  or  bull  has  a 
lien  on  its  offspring  for  a  period  of  six  months  after  the 
birth  thereof.  If  the  claim  for  lien  is  recorded  in  the  case 
of  a  bull  it  has  priority  over  other  liens  and  is  good  against 
subsequent  purchasers  for  value.  The  statute  does  not  de- 
fine the  extent  of  the  lien  in  the  case  of  stallion  or  jackass 
but  simply  provides  that  the  lien  is  in  force  from  its 
recordation.  The  license  is  necessary  before  an  owner  can 
stand  a  sire,  for  compensation,  and  in  the  case  of  stallions 
and  jackasses  the  license  fee  is  $10  and  for  bulls  $2.50. 

WASHINGTON. 

"Every  owner  of  a  sire  having  a  service  fee,  in  order 
to  have  a  lien  on  the  female  served,  and  upon  the  get 
of  any  such  sire,  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  for  such 
service,  shall  file  for  record  with  the  county  auditor  of  the 
county  where  the  said  sire  is  kept  for  service,  a  statement 
verified  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge 
and  belief,  giving  the  name,  age,  description  and  pedi- 
gree, as  well  as  the  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  such 
sire  is  advertised  for  service;  provided,  that  owners  of 
sires  who  are  not  in  possession  of  pedigrees  for  such  sires 
shall  not  be  debarred  from  the  benefits  of  this  act." 

Upon  filing  such  statement  the  owner  will  get  a  certifi- 
cate which  must  be  posted  by  him  in  a  conspicuous  place 


296  THE    HORSE   BOOK. 


where  the  sire  is  stationed  for  service.  Having  complied 
with  the  statute,  the  owner  has  a  lien  on  the  female  served 
for  one  year  from  the  date  of  service,  and  on  the  get  for  one 
year  from  the  date  of  birth,  provided  the  owner  files  with 
the  county  auditor  of  the  county  where  the  service  was 
rendered,  a  statement  showing  the  amount  due  and  giv- 
ing a  description  of  the  female  served.  This  statement 
must  be  on  oath  and  must  be  filed  within  six  months  from 
the  date  of  service  or  the  date  of  birth,  according  whether 
the  lien  is  to  be  on  dam  or  offspring.  This  lien  is  a  pre- 
ferred lien  and  is  foreclosed  as  other  liens  on  personal 
property. 

WEST    VIRGINIA. 

The  owner  of  a  stallion,  jack  or  bull  has  a  lien  on  the 
offspring  of  his  animal  if  the  service  was  by  contract  with 
the  owner  of  the  female  or  his  agent,  at  the  time  of  serv- 
ice. To  perfect  or  enforce  his  lien  the  stallioner  must 
within  six  months  from  the  birth  of  get  file  before  some 
justice  of  the  county  where  the  get  may  be,  the  affidavit 
of  himslf  or  of  "some  credible  person,"  stating  the  amount 
of  lien,  that  it  is  due  by  contract  and  giving  a  description 
of  the  foal  or  calf  on  which  the  lien  is  claimed.  "Upon  the 
filing  of  such  affidavit,  the  justice  shall  issue  a  warrant  to 
the  sheriff  or  to  a  constable  of  the  county  who  shall  dis- 
train the  colt  or  calf  for  the  amount  claimed  and  the 
same  shall  be  disposed  of  as  if  taken  for  distress  for  rent." 

WISCONSIN. 

Every  person,  firm  or  company  using  any  stallion  or 
jack  for  public  service  must  enroll  the  name,  description 
and  pedigree  in  the  department  of  horse  breeding  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  and  record  the  certificate  of  en- 
rollment with  the  register  of  deeds  of  the  county  in  which 
the  stallion  or  jack  is  used  for  public  service. 

In  order  to  obtain  this  license  certificate  the  owner  must 
make  oath  before  a  notary  public,  or  any  officer  authorized 
to  administer  oaths,  that  the  stallion  or  jack  is,  to  the 
best  of  his  knowledge,  free  from  hereditary,  contagious  or 
transmissible  unsoundness  or  disease,  "or  in  lieu  thereof, 
may  file  a  certificate  of  soundness,  signed  by  a  duly  quali- 
fied veterinarian,  who  shall  be  a  regular  graduate  of  a  rec- 
ognized veterinary  college,  or  by  a  registered  veterinarian 
who  shows  proof  that  he  was  in  practice  in  this  state  for  a 
period  of  five  years  prior  to  the  year  1887  and  shall  make 
oath  to  said  certificate  before  a  notary  public,  or  any  officer 
duly  authorized  to  administer  oaths,"  and  the  affidavit  or 
veterinarian's  certificate,  together  with  the  stud  book  cer- 


THE   HORSE   BOOK.  297 


tificate  of  pedigree  must  be  sent  to  the  department  of  horse 
breeding  of  the  university. 

Upon  complaint  the  department  of  horse  breeding  may 
examine  a  stallion  or  jack,  to  discover  whether  the  animal 
is  unsound,  but  the  owner  may  be  represented  by  a  recog- 
nized graduate  veterinarian.  If  they  do  not  agree  they 
may  appoint  a  third,  whose  decision  shall  be  final. 

"The  owner  of  any  stallion  or  jack  used  for  public  serv- 
ice in  this  state,  shall  post  and  keep  affixed  during  the 
entire  breeding  season,  copies  of  thb  license  certificate  of 
such  stallion  or  jack,  *  *  *  in  a  conspicuous  place 
both  within  and  upon  the  outside  of  every  stable  or  build- 
ing where  the  said  stallion  or  jack  is  used  for  public  serv- 
ice at  his  home  or  elsewhere. 

"Each  bill  and  poster  issued  by  the  owner  of  any  stallion 
or  jack  enrolled  under  this  act,  or  used  by  him  or  his 
agent,  for  advertising  such  stallion  or  jack  §hall  contain  a 
copy  of  the  stallion's  or  jack's  certificate  of  enrollment 
printed  in  bold  face  type  not  smaller  than  long  primer  on 
said  bill  or  poster,  and  first  mentioned  thereon  the  name 
of  the  stallion  or  jack  shall  be  preceded  by  the  words 
'pure-bred/  'grade,'  'cross-bred,'  or  'non-standard  bred'  in 
accordance  with  the  certificate  of  enrollment;  and  it  shall 
be  illegal  to  print  upon  the  poster  any  misleading  refer- 
ence to  the  breeding  of  the  stallion  or  jack,  his  sire  or  his 
dam,  or  to  use  upon  such  bill  or  poster  the  portrait  of  a 
stallion  or  jack  in  a  misleading  way;  and  each  newspaper 
advertisement  printed  to  advertise  any  stallion  or  jack  for 
public  service  shall  show  the  enrollment  certificate  num- 
ber and  state  whether  it  reads  'pure-bred/  'grade/  'cross- 
bred/ or  'non-standard  bred/"  (The  foregoing  paragraph 
new,  1907.) 

The  enrollment  license  fee  is  two  dollars,  and  bi- 
ennial renewal  fees  one  dollar  each.  The  certificate  may  be 
transferred  upon  proof  of  change  of  ownership,  and  a 
duplicate  certificate  may  be  obtained  upon  proof  of  loss 
or  destruction  of  the  original.  Violation  of  any  of  the 
provisions  of  the  act  is  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  to  ex- 
ceed $50. 

"Every  owner  of  a  stallion  or  jack  kept  and  used  for 
breeding  purposes  shall  have  a  lien  on  any  colt  begotten 
by  such  stallion  or  jack  for  the  sum  stipulated  to  be  paid 
for  the  service  thereof,  and  may  seize  and  take  possession 
of  said  colt  without  process  at  any  time  before  it  is  one 
year  old,  in  case  the  price  agreed  upon  for  such  service 
remains  unpaid,  and  sell  the  same  at  public  auction  upon 
ten  days'  notice,  to  be  posted  in  at  least  three  public  places 


298  THE    HOUSE   BOOK. 

in  the  town  where  the  owner  of  such  colt  resides,  and 
apply  the  proceeds  of  such  sale  to  the  payment  of  the 
amount  due  for  said  service  and  the  expense  of  such 
seizure  and  sale,  returning  the  residue  if  any  to  the  party 
entitled  thereto;  provided  no  such  lien  shall  be  effectual 
for  any  purpose  as  against  the  innocent  purchaser  of  such 
colt  or  the  dam  thereof  for  value,  unless  such  owner  having 
a  claim  for  the  service  of  such  stallion  or  jack  shall  file 
with  the  clerk  of  the  city,  village  or  town  where  the  owner 
of  the  mare  served  resides  a  statement  showing  that  such 
service  has  been  rendered  and  the  amount  therefor." 

The  foregoing  is  a  part  of  the  old  law,  not  repealed  by 
the  new  regulative  act. 

WYOMING. 

The  stallioner  has  a  lien  on  mare  and  colt  for  the  agreed 
service  fee,  the  lien  being  prior  to  subsequent  liens  or 
encumbrances,  except  the  lien  for  taxes. 

"A  notice  of  such  lien  shall  within  six  months  after  the 
day  of  such  service  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  county 
clerk  of  the  county  in  which  the  mare  or  colt  is  held  or 
pastured,  or  subject  to  taxation."  The  statute  prescribes 
the  form  of  the  notice.  Breeders'  liens  may  be  released  in 
the  same  manner  as  chattel  mortgages.  At  any  time  after 
default  in  payment  for  the  service,  and  within  one  year 
from  the  date  of  service,  the  holder  of  the  lien  may  take 
possession  of  the  mare  or  colt. 

The  statute  is  very  explict  in  directing  the  manner  of 
sale  under  this  lien.  If  both  mare  and  colt  are  taken,  the 
colt  must  be  sold  first. 

If  the  owner  does  not  wish  to  foreclose  his  lien  by  tak- 
ing possession  he  may  have  it  renewed  in  the  same  way 
that  chattel  mortgages  are  renewed. 


THE   HOKSE   BOOK.  299 

AMERICAN  STUD  BOOKS. 

American  Association  of  Importers  and  Breeders  of  Bel- 
gian Draft  Horses — J.  D.  Conner  Jr.,  Wabash,  Ind.,  Secre- 
tary. 

American  Breeders'  Association  of  Jacks  and  Jennets — 
J.  W.  Jones,  Columbia,  Tenn.,  Secretary. 

American  Clydesdale  Association — R.  B.  Ogilvie,  Union 
Stock  Yards,  Chicago,  Secretary. 

American  Hackney  Horse  Society — A.  H.  Godfrey,  New 
York,  Secretary. 

American  Breeders'  and  Importers'  Percheron  Registry — 
John  A.  Forney,  Plainfield,  O.,  Secretary. 

American  Saddle  Horse  Breeders'  Association — I.  B.  Nail, 
Louisville,  Ky.,  Secretary. 

American  Shetland  Pony  Club — Mortimer  Levering,  La- 
fayette, Ind.,  Secretary. 

American  Shire  Horse  Breeders'  Association — Chas.  Bur- 
gess, Wenona,  111.,  Secretary. 

American  Stud  Book  (Thoroughbreds) — W.  H.  Rowe, 
New  York,  Registrar. 

American  Trotting  Register  Co.— Frank  E.  Best,  Chicago, 
Registrar. 

American  Suffolk  Horse  Association — Alexander  Gal- 
braith,  Janesville,  Wis.,  Secretary. 

Cleveland  Bay  Society  of  America — R.  P.  Stericker,  West 
Orange,  N.  J.,  Secretary. 

French  Coach  Horse  Society  of  America — Duncan  B.  Wil- 
lett,  Oak  Park,  111.,  Secretary. 

French  Coach  Registry  Co.— Chas  C.  Glenn,  Columbus,  O., 
Secretary. 

German,  Hanoverian  and  Oldenburg  Coach  Horse  Breed- 
ers' Association — J.  Crouch,  Lafayette,  Ind.,  Secretary. 

Morgan  Horse  Register — Joseph  Battel,  Middlebury,  Vt, 
Editor. 

National  French  Draft  Horse  Association — C.  E.  Stubbs, 
Fairfield,  la.,  Secretary. 

Oldenburg  Coach  Horse  Association  of  America — C.  E. 
Stubbs,  Fairfield,  la.,  Secretary. 

Percheron  Society  of  America — Geo.  W.  Stubblefield, 
Union  Stock  Yards,  Chicago,  Secretary. 

Percheron  Registry  Co. — Chas.  C.  Glenn,  Columbus,  O., 
Secretary. 


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SHEEP  FARMING 
I    IN  AMERICA 

By  JOSEPH  E.  WING 

AN  UP-TO-DATE  SHEEP  BOOK 


A  new  and  modern  treatise  on  floek  man- 
agement entitled  "Sheep  Farming  in 
America,"  prepared  by  Mr.  Joseph  E. 
Wing,  is  just  off  the  press.  It  is  written 
in  Mr.  Wing's  usual  brilliant  style  and 
discusses  in  a  practical  way  all  the  leading 
problems  with  which  flockmasters  are 
confronted.  Moreover,  it  is  illustrated 
with  an  unusually  attractive  line  of  half- 
tone engravings,  reproduced  from  the 
best  available  photographs.  C  In  view  of 
the  widespread  interest  now  existing  in 
sheep  husbandry  the  appearance  of  this 
little  volume  is  certainly  timely,  and  we 
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SHORT- HORN 
CATTLE 

A  Handsome  Volume  of  872  Pages 


By  ALVIN   H.   SANDERS 
Managing   Editor  of   "The   Breeder's   Gazette1 


The  Only  Work  Now  in  Print  on  This  Subject 

Invaluable  to  beginners  and  of  ab- 
sorbing interest  to  all  cattle  breeders 


A   HISTORY  OF   THE    BREED 

from  the  earliest  period  down  to 
the  end  of  the  century.  Profusely 
illustrated,  new  engravings,  hand- 
somely printed,  bound  in  cloth 


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Farm  Buildings 

A  Recent  Compilation  of  Plans  for  General  Farm 
Barns,  Cattle  Barns,  Horse  Barns,  Sheep  Folds, 
Swine  Pens  Poultry-Houses, Silos,  Feeding  Racks, 
Etc.  All  Representing  Construction  in  Actual  Use 


THIS  is  not  a  book  of  proposed  plans  for  farm 
buildings,  but  for  the  most  part  is  a  presenta- 
tion of  actual  construction  by  practical  men. 
Many  different  types  are  illustrated.  Different  farms, 
different  latitudes  and  different  methods  of  manage- 
ment demand  an  infinite  variation  in  the  style,  di- 
mensions and  detail  of  American  farm  buildings.  In 
barn  building,  as  in  the  planning  of  the  farm  home, 
nearly  every  individual  has  his  own  peculiar  ideas 
and  tastes.  It  is  rarely  that  one  is  entirely  satisfied 
with  what  a  neighbor  has  done  in  such  matters.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  clear  that  many  general  proposi- 
tions and  many  matters  of  detail  possessing  real  value 
to  a  prospective  builder  may  be  gleaned  from  a  study 
of  what  successful  farmers  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  have  already  carried  out.  In  the  belief  that 
many  helpful  hints  will  be  found  in  these  pages,  and  to 
fill  a  persistent  demand  for  information  upon  the  sub- 
ject treated,  the  publishers  present  this  compilation 
with  full  confidence  that  it  will  meet  with  general  ap- 
preciation. Sent  postpaid  to  any  address,  on  receipt  of 

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